NATO: No plan to bribe Taliban

NATO does not intend to bribe Taliban guerrillas to defect to the Afghan government side as a way to end the war, NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said yesterday, dismissing concerns over the latest plan to end the country’s growing insurgency.

Fogh Rasmussen’s comments came amid a renewed push to make peace with moderate Taliban insurgents and draw them into the political process.

The North Atlantic alliance has strongly backed an Afghan plan to bring the insurgents over to the government’s side.