Taliban Won’t Be Invited To Tribal Elders’ Meeting

No Taliban leader or any of their associates will be invited to a proposed grand meeting of tribal elders from Pakistan and Afghanistan, officials from the two sides said. The decision was made at a meeting of top leaders of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Jirga held at Nathia Gali.The jirga will be held in Kabul in August, and President Gen Pervez Musharraf and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai are to attend, said Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao.Pir Syed Ahmad Gilani, who is heading elders from the Afghan side, told reporters he was optimistic for success of the jirga, which ''will play an important role in bringing peace'' to the region. ''No Taliban will attend the jirga, and only peace-loving people will attend,'' Mr Sherpao said as Guilani nodded. Pakistan and Afghan officials have met in recent weeks after Karzai proposed holding a jirga to resolve tensions and problems between the two countries.