Karzai seeks delisting of Taliban leaders from UN terror list

Afghan President Hamid Karzai plans to seek the removal of up to 50 former Taliban officials from a UN terrorism list in a bid to advance reconciliation talks with insurgents, The Washington Post reported. Officially, the Karzai government has set pre-conditions for any peace talks with insurgents, saying that militants first would have to renounce violence, accept the Afghan constitution, and rescind ties with international terrorist groups.But citing an unnamed senior Afghan official, the newspaper said has the diplomatic outreach to the Taliban had taken on renewed urgency in recent weeks as Karzai has begun to press for a political settlement to Afghanistan's nearly nine-year-old conflict. The United States is assisting Karzai in the process. However, the diplomatic overtures have met resistance from UN officials, who are demanding more evidence that the individuals in question have renounced violence, The Post said.