Taliban may have future in govt

Taliban may have future in govt, says Cameron

The British prime minister, David Cameron, said on Tuesday Afghanistan’s Taliban could have a future as part of a government, as former militants did in Northern Ireland, but warned that those who did not lay down arms risked being killed.

Speaking alongside Afghan president Hamid Karzai in Kabul, Cameron said Britain would also step up aid to Afghanistan as troops were gradually withdrawn and unveiled plans for a new British Sandhurst-style academy to train Afghan army officers.

‘I’ve seen it in my own country, in Northern Ireland, where people who were involved in trying to kill, maim, and bomb civilians, police officers, army personnel, and even politicians, have actually become politicians themselves,’ Cameron said.

‘You are losing this fight,’ he said, referring to the militants who have been battling foreign forces and Karzai’s government since they were ousted in late 2001.