KABUL - Taliban chief Mullah Omar has defended the talks with the United States and termed them a ‘strategy’, reported BBC on Friday.
The Taliban’s reclusive leader in an Eid message claimed victories on the battlefield against NATO and defended initial contacts, now suspended, with the US.
Mullah Omar further said the Taliban wanted share in the Afghan government after the withdrawal of allied troops in 2014.
Agencies add: Mullah Omar said they would talk to Afghan factions following pull-out of the invaders, as he referred to the planned withdrawal of NATO troops in 2014.
The rare statement by the Taliban leader said by the Afghan government to be based in neighbouring Pakistan came on the eve of Eid-al-Fitr celebrations marking the end of the holy month of Ramazan.
“The ‘unique distinction’ of this year’s summer offensive by the Taliban was that it had reached all areas of the country and forced NATO and Afghan government troops to adopt defensive positions,” he further claimed.
He also said that a spate of green-on-blue attacks, in which Afghan forces turn their weapons against NATO personnel, was the result of Taliban infiltrating local security units.
NATO, which has some 130,000 US-led troops in Afghanistan, has acknowledged a spike in such incidents this summer, but says most are motivated by cultural differences between troops and plays down the role of Taliban infiltration.
A total of 37 foreign troops have been killed in green-on-blue attacks this year.
In an apparent move to allay fears among some Taliban factions, Omar said in the seven-page message posted on the group’s website that initial talks with the United States “had not meant submission or abandoning our goals”.
Instead they had been aimed at initiating an exchange of prisoners, opening a political office and to “reach our goals”, he said, noting that the Taliban had suspended the talks earlier this year.
Omar said the Taliban “will make efforts to reach an understanding with the Afghan factions in due time following (the) pull-out of the invaders.”
Attempting to counter its reputation for the brutal suppression of women’s rights, Omar said a Taliban government would “give all legitimate rights to women in the light of the Islamic principles, national interests and our noble culture.”
He also urged his fighters, who he said had successfully infiltrated the security forces, to avoid civilian deaths after a swathe of suicide bombings this week killed 63 people.
The one-eyed leader said insurgents should "employ tactics that do not cause harm to life and property of the common countrymen".
"The instructions given to you for the protection of civilian losses are, on you, a religious obligation to observe," Mullah Omar said in a seven-page statement released late on Thursday and translated into five languages.
"Any violation readily incurs loss in this world and in the world to come. Therefore, I urge you emphatically to be careful about the civilian losses and take this on yourselves as an explicit responsibility."
Amid mounting anger among Afghans over civilian deaths caused by both the insurgency and NATO, the statement is probably aimed at presenting a more moderate face for the Taliban as efforts continue to re-start peace talks which could foster a power-sharing deal for the insurgency.
Mullah Omar boasted that his forces had successfully infiltrated Afghan security forces to mount rogue shootings of foreign troops that have killed 39 soldiers in 30 attacks this year.
"Mujahideen have cleverly infiltrated in the ranks of the enemy according to the plan given to them last year," he said. "They are able to (safely) enter bases, offices and intelligence centres of the enemy. Then, they easily carry out decisive and coordinated attacks."
Mullah Omar, the spiritual leader of the Taliban, urged police, soldiers and government workers to "abandon support of the invaders" and back the Taliban ahead of the departure of most Western combat troops in 2014.
The Taliban had set up a shadow government organization called the "Department of Call and Guidance, Luring and Integration", he said, countering Afghan government efforts to reintegrate former insurgents.
“The new department has set up branches across the country to "provide you facilities to leave the ranks of the enemy and join the Mujahideen", he said, although the Taliban frequently exaggerate their reach and military successes.
Meanwhile, the NATO commander in Afghanistan swiftly denounced Mullah Omar’s statement as a message of hate from a deranged man.
General John Allen pilloried the statement as "an unmistakable message of death, hate and hopelessness for the Afghan people" on the eve of Eidul Fitr.
Calling Omar a "deranged man" using "insane language", Allen scoffs at his call on Taliban militants to avoid killing civilians, pointing to the deaths of dozens of civilians in a series of suicide and bomb attacks this week.
"Either Omar is lying, or his henchmen are not listening to him, but it is clear that innocent Afghan civilians are paying the price for his corrupt leadership," Allen said in a statement.


Mullah Omar defends US talks