KABUL (AFP) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday he had appointed members of a committee that will aim to talk peace with the Taliban, including warlords, ex-insurgent commanders and clerics. Today we will announce the list of the High Peace Council members, Karzai said during a ceremony marking Afghanistans national literacy day. His office released a list of 68 people hand-picked by Karzai to lead his efforts to broker a peace deal with Taliban and other insurgents fighting to topple his Western-backed administration. The list included former president and warlord Burhanuddin Rabbani, warlords Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayaf and Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq - all key figures in the resistance during the 1996-2001 Taliban rule over the country. These commanders helped the United States and other Western allies topple the Taliban from power in late 2001. The creation of the council was a key decision made in June at a peace jirga in Kabul attended by community, tribal, religious and political leaders from across the country. Dozens of pro-govt clerics, former govt officials and tribal elders are also part of the new council, along with at least seven women, Karzais spokesman Waheed Omer said. This council is mandated to broker peace through negotiation and reconciliation with the Taliban, Omer told reporters. The mandate given to the High Council for Peace is a big mandate. The govt will respect their mandate, he said.Karzai has been pushing to open a dialogue with the Taliban leadership aimed at speeding an end to the war heading into its 10th year - but the Taliban have rejected talks unless NATO-led foreign forces withdraw from Afghanistan. Officials have said the council would include former members of the Taliban and Hizb-i-Islami, a militant group led by former prime minister and mujahedeen leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Hekmatyars Hizb-i-Islami is currently in a tenuous alliance with the Taliban, although both sides remain suspicious of each other. There are sisters on the list, too, Karzai said earlier Tuesday, without naming any of the women to be appointed. During their brutal regime, the Taliban banned women from going to school, working or leaving their homes without the company of male relatives. Karzai renewed his call Tuesday for the Taliban to stop fighting and join the peace process. Compatriots Do not destroy your land for others interests. Do not kill your people for others interests, do not close down schools for others interests, he said a speech at a Kabul high school, referring to insurgents. Karzai has made indirect references to Pakistan and other neighbouring countries allegedly supporting the Taliban for long-term strategic interests. On occasions he has named Pakistan directly. Taliban and others, if they consider themselves from this country, and consider themselves Muslims and Afghans, must know every bullet they fire is a bullet at the heart of this land and at the interest of enemies of this land, he said.