Rockets, Gunfire Rock Start of Afghan Peace Conference - nytimes

KABUL, Afghanistan —As rockets landed nearby, President Hamid Karzai opened a national consultative peace assembly on Wednesday morning with the goal of winning popular backing for his plan to persuade Taliban and insurgent foot soldiers to stop fighting.

In his speech, which was punctuated by a rocket that exploded close by, forcing Mr. Karzai to tell the audience not to worry, he spoke directly to the Taliban, calling on them to join the government.

Within minutes, a larger explosion from another rocket shook the large tent where the gathering, known as a jirga, was being held. The jirga took a scheduled 10-minute break, but had not returned nearly an hour later.

In Mr. Karzai’s speech to the traditional assembly, known as a jirga, he called the Taliban “brothers” and “dear Talibs,” and described their flight to Pakistan and their fighting as a reaction to injustices done by local Afghans who had “disturbed them “ and by foreign troops. .... Violence Shakes Afghan Assembly

Rockets, Gunfire Rock Start of Afghan Peace Conference