Taliban rejects Afghanistan's attempt to negotiate

The Taliban in Afghanistan is rejecting President Hamid Karzai's latest attempt to reach out to them, but says they are open to talks on creating an Islamic state.

Elsewhere, the Pakistani Minister for Foreign Affairs stated his government was willing to work with disgruntled members of the Taliban.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai used last month's conference in London to repeat a call for reconciliation with what he calls his "disenchanted brothers" in the Taliban.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Pakistan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, echoed Karzai's proposal.

Afghan Taliban fighters cover their faces in Andar district of Ghazni province last year. (AFP/File/Mohammad Yaqubi)