Islam Times - Britain calls for talks with Taliban

Islam Times - The British government has called for negotiations with the Taliban after over a decade of war and occupation following the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has said Britain would support negotiations between the US and the Taliban.

US-Taliban talks started in January in Qatar. However, negotiations broke down over a Taliban inmates transfer deal.

US officials proposed to release the Taliban prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention center and relocate them to prisons in Qatar. Nevertheless, the Taliban refused to accept the deal.

The US-led war in Afghanistan began more than a decade ago. However, the Taliban still remains in control of major parts of the country.

According to icasualties.org, total UK military fatalities as a result of war on Afghanistan stands at 437.

Meanwhile, with almost no official record of the death toll of Afghan civilians, civilian casualties continue to mount in the country.

Currently, 9,000 British occupying forces are in Afghanistan, which makes Britain the second largest occupying force in the country after the US.