Taliban leaders willing to talk with govt. have been killed or arrested: Karzai

Kabul, Feb 20 (ANI): Afghan President Hamid Karzai has reportedly said that key Taliban leaders who have shown a willingness to negotiate with his government have either been killed or have been arrested.

"President Hamid Karzai told me that certain powers kill and arrest important Afghan (Taliban) personalities whenever they find an opportunity to talk to us," The Express tribune quoted Maulana Samiul Haq, chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-S), as saying.

"The Afghan president also mentioned the arrest and killing of key Taliban leaders in Pakistan," Sami-ul-Haq said, adding that Karzai said he loses the opportunity of dialogue when these personalities are removed.

When Mullah Baradar, the next important leader in the Taliban hierarchy after Mullah Omar, was arrested near Karachi in February 2010, a section of the media claimed that he had been involved in talks with Kabul.

The Taliban denied the report. The Afghan government and President Karzai had in the past sought access and repatriation of Mullah Baradar, but the demand is believed to have not been accepted. (ANI)