The commander of foreign forces in Afghanistan, US General David Petraeus, said the insurgent leadership had made "overtures" to the government of President Hamid Karzai.

Speaking to AFP on Tuesday, Petraeus also said mid-level commanders and grassroots fighters had expressed interest in coming in from the cold and joining a programme to reintegrate into mainstream society.

Karzai has set up a High Peace Council that he hopes will open talks with the Taliban, and on Tuesday named its 68 members, among them warlords and former militia leaders, many with reputations for human rights abuses.

But in a statement emailed to news organisations, the Taliban -- styling itself as the "Islamic emirate", as it did during its 1996-2001 rule -- rejected Petraeus's assertions as "baseless".

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, while rejecting the claim of General Petraeus, believe that such baseless claims by the enemy portray their jittery (nerves) and (military) fiasco in face of the mujahideen," it said in English.

"How can it be possible for the officials of the Islamic emirate to initiate clandestine contacts with the powerless and stooge government while they have already turned down the misleading demands and proposals of the weak Kabul administration for commencement of negotiation," the militia said in the statement which was also released in Dari and Pashto.

The Taliban launched their insurgency, now dragging towards its 10th year, after their regime was overthrown in a US-led invasion in late 2001.

This year, with the deployment of extra forces and a concomitant increase in battlefield engagements, has been the deadliest for foreign troops, now numbering more than 152,000.

International and Afghan forces are currently engaged in a major offensive in and around Kandahar city, the Taliban heartland and their former capital.

Officials said hundreds of families have been displaced by fierce clashes between troops and Taliban militants.

More than 7,000 NATO and Afghan troops launched a major military offensive code-named Operation Dragon Strike around Kandahar city last week, said Petraeus.

The eradication of insurgents from Kandahar is seen as key to the counter-insurgency strategy that aims to enable US troops to start a gradual withdrawal from July next year.

The momentum in the war has this year been seen to turn in the Taliban's favour, as their influence has extended to most of the country.

The statement said these "gains" had a "negative impact on the morale of the invading enemy" and said they would not talk peace until foreign forces leave.

earlier related report
Talks with Afghan Taliban at 'embryonic stage': NATO
Washington (AFP) Sept 29, 2010 - NATO's top civilian official in Afghanistan said the Kabul government's attempts to forge a dialogue with Taliban leaders are at an "embryonic stage" and genuine negotiations have yet to begin.

While "significant leaders" in the insurgency appear open to reconciling with the Kabul government, British diplomat Mark Sedwill cautioned Tuesday against overstating prospects for a peace settlement any time soon.

"We're at an embryonic stage," Sedwill told a news conference during a visit to Washington.

"The channels of communication are open. I wouldn't at this stage say that we've reached a stage of real negotiation," he said.

There was no sign that the Taliban as a whole are ready to enter into political talks after nine years of war, he said, "but there are significant leaders there who seem to be weary of the fighting and seem to be willing to contemplate a future within the mainstream."

His comments echoed remarks by the commander of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, who told AFP on Tuesday that small insurgent groups had made "overtures" about laying down their arms while the Kabul government's talks with the Taliban were at an "early" phase.

"This is very, very early stages, I don't think you would yet call it negotiations, it is early discussions," the general said.

Sedwill said reconciliation talks will be "a difficult and complex process and just how many of those leaders will be able to see it through to the end and be able to bring over significant elements, or factions of the insurgency I think is yet to be determined."

He said President Hamid Karzai's initiative offered a "very serious opportunity" for the insurgents, as Kabul was only requiring that they renounce violence and terror and uphold the country's constitution.

But he warned that "at the same they're going to face very severe pressure from us if they continue to fight."

Karzai has set up a 66-member High Peace Council to broker a peace deal with the Taliban, whose regime was toppled in late 2001 in a US-led invasion.

During his Washington visit, Sedwill held talks with top US officials in advance of a NATO summit in Lisbon in November, when alliance members are expected to endorse the current strategy in the Afghan war.

The NATO-led force of more than 150,000 is seeking to push back the Taliban from towns in the south and east while building up Afghan security forces, who are scheduled to begin taking over from foreign troops by mid-2011.

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