Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's Taliban-talks hope in tatters

New Delhi: Afghan President Hamid Karzai's attempts to bring the Taliban to the table for talks lie in tatters, for now. In a seven-hour-long attack, the Taliban killed over 50 people and injured 100 others. Nine militants in army uniforms and in security force vehicles mounted an assault on a court complex in Farah city, the capital of the south western Farah province. The attempt was to free a dozen Taliban prisoners being taken to court. Afghan officials say no prisoner escaped and all Taliban fighters were killed or blew themselves up.

Hours later, the President condemned the attack and vowed he would not allow the 'genocide' to go unanswered. The attack comes just a day after sources told NDTV, the 2010 Karzai-appointed High Peace Council would open a Taliban political bureau in Qatar to facilitate talks with militant leaders who accepted tough conditions. The Mullah Omar-led Taliban has always refused to talk to the Afghan government describing it as a puppet.

The attack in the province bordering Iran followed the usual modus operandi. Taliban fighters got through security checkpoints dressed in Afghan soldiers' uniforms in security force vehicles. One vehicle was blown up by suicide attackers. The other militants then entered the provincial government compound that housed the court complex and is close to the Governor's office. The attack is the worst in terms of civilian casualties in almost a year. 44 civilians were killed and 71 others were injured. With such a large number of wounded, the number of those killed is expected to rise.