No peace talks in place with anyone: Taliban

KABUL, except about prisoner exchanges.

“Once again the West is spreading false propaganda that talks with the Taliban to resolve the conflict are taking place,” the insurgents said in a statement.

It said the media had been spreading such reports in a bid to change minds. “There is a pause in coverage when the Taliban deny the talks,” it said.

“No Taliban goes his own way; he does what his leadership tells him to do.”

No talks had taken place between the Taliban and a foreign country about the ongoing conflict, the statement said, adding that if there was any contact it was about a prisoner swap.

France had contacted the Taliban several times seeking the release of a French national in the Taliban’s captivity, the statement said, adding there were similar contacts when some Koreans were seized by the Taliban in Ghazni in 2008.

President Hamid Karzai has recently confirmed the US’s involvement in the Afghan government-initiated peace talks with the Taliban.

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