Karzai offers olive branch to Taliban fighters

Afghanistan’s president appealed to Taliban fighters to lay down their weapons and accept Afghan laws as the government and its international allies pushed a programme to entice militants away from the insurgency.

President Hamid Karzai spoke days after he and Western backers agreed at a conference in London to create a more comprehensive programme to bring Taliban insurgents over to the government’s side in order to reduce violence that has raged in recent years.