WASHINGTON, Dec 13: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that only about 50 to 100 Taliban have been involved with terrorism while the rest of them were ordinary people like members of other combatant forces in Afghanistan.

The Afghan president also said that those Afghan warlords who had their own private armies were "a greater threat to Afghanistan than the Taliban." Mr Karzai's assertions, published in the Newsweek on Monday, may have a far-reaching impact on Afghan politics.

Analysts say it has two major objectives, winning over Taliban supporters scattered across Afghanistan and strengthening Mr Karzai's support in the Pashtun belts of southern and eastern Afghanistan where most of the Taliban come from.

But, according to the analysts, it may further strain Mr Karzai's relations with the Northern Alliance already unhappy with his decision to distance himself from its powerful commander, Gen. Mohammed Fahim. The general had hoped to contest the October election as Mr Karzai's running mate but the Afghan president abandoned him at the last moment.

"Thousands of Taliban are just ordinary people, like the rest of combatant forces in Afghanistan," Mr Karzai told the Newsweek. "But there are about 50 to 100 people, not more than that, who have visible records of criminal activity, who are visibly part of Al Qaeda, who are visibly part of terrorism."

Mr Karzai said that his government has been talking to these ordinary Taliban for a long time. "Those who are not part of Al Qaeda, who are not linked to terrorism, who have not committed crimes against our people, and those who have a desire to come back and be a part of this country again, are welcome," he added. But he warned that those 50-100 Taliban supporters who he says are involved in "criminal activity," cannot be forgiven. "We cannot accept them. We will fight them," he added.

President Karzai, who was inaugurated last week in the company of top US officials, said he's not worried about the threat of the Taliban in the countryside because "the countryside is even more ready for good government than the urban centers."

Indicating his future strategy for winning over the Taliban, the Afghan president said that Afghanistan needs "a capable administration" which can bring these people into the mainstream by providing basic services to the countryside.