TEHRAN, Jun 1- The head of the Afghan Taliban pledged on Saturday to continue fighting until the movement's objectives were reached and indicated it was still not ready to open talks with the Western-backed government in Kabul.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - In his annual message ahead of next week's Eid al-Fitr holiday, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada sought to reassure Afghans that the Taliban wanted an end to decades of conflict and a government that represented all Afghans.
But he offered little sign of agreeing to a ceasefire or of opening direct negotiations with the Kabul government, which the Taliban regard as an illegitimate foreign-imposed regime.
He also gave no sign the Taliban would repeat last year's truce over the three-day Eid holiday that ends the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which led to unprecedented scenes of Taliban fighters and government soldiers mingling and even embracing in the streets of Kabul.
Taliban representatives have been talking with U.S. diplomats for months about withdrawing more than 20,000 U.S. and NATO coalition troops in exchange for guarantees that Afghanistan will not be used as a base for militant attacks.
They have also met senior Afghan politicians and civil society representatives, most recently in Moscow this week, as part of a so-called intra-Afghan dialogue to discuss the country's future.
Source: Reuters
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