Kabul: Afghan President Hamid Karzai Friday called on Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar to stop fighting and join peace talks aimed at ending the long war in Afghanistan.
"We hope Mullah Mohammad Omar Akhund joins the peace process, gives up fratricide, gives up bombings and blasts, stops causing casualties to Afghanistan's children, women and men," he said, using Omar's religious title.
Karzai was speaking at the presidential palace at a traditional post-prayers gathering of government ministers and officials to mark the first day of the Eid holiday.
Karzai last week announced that he had set up a council to pursue peace talks with the Taliban, who have been waging an insurgency in Afghanistan for almost nine years.
The formation of the High Peace Council was "a significant step towards peace talks," Karzai's office said at the time.
The move was one of the most significant steps Karzai has taken in his oft-stated efforts to open a dialogue with the Taliban leadership aimed at speeding an end to the long war.
Karzai's plan to create the High Peace Council was approved in June at a "peace jirga" in Kabul attended by community, tribal, religious and political leaders from across the country.
The council was mooted as a negotiating body, to be made up of around 50 representatives of a broad section of Afghan society, to talk peace with the Taliban.
