October 07, 2008	Tuesday	Shawwal 7, 1429

KABUL, Oct 6: The war in Afghanistan cannot be won militarily and success is only possible through political means, including dialogue between all relevant parties, the United Nation’s top official in the country said on Monday.

“I’ve always said to those that talk about the military surge ... what we need most of all is a political surge, more political energy,” Kai Eide, the UN special envoy to Afghanistan, told a news conference in Kabul.

“We all know that we cannot win it militarily. It has to be won through political means. That means political engagement.”

Eide said success depended on speaking with all sides in the conflict. “If you want to have relevant results, you must speak to those who are relevant. If you want to have results that matter, you must speak to those who matter,” he said.

But the Taliban have repeatedly rejected the idea of talks unless all 70,000 invading troops leave the country.

“As we said before, as long as the invading forces are in Afghanistan, we won’t participate in any negotiations,” Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf told the Pakistan-based Afghan news agency, AIP, on Monday.

Eide also appealed to Taliban leaders to allow aid workers to distribute food aid ahead of winter.

Eide said the militants’ agreement to allow medical teams to reach children in a polio immunisation drive last month should be the basis for other humanitarian action.

“We will be in the process over the coming weeks and months to ensure that food is available across the country to those who need it most,” the Norwegian diplomat told journalists.

“I would take this opportunity to appeal to the Taliban and to appeal to its leaders to ensure access for the distributors and to expand the humanitarian agenda that we should share,” he said. Eide said such efforts did not have political objectives, he said.—Agencies