Taliban deny attending peace talks with Afghan government in Maldives

Taliban deny attending peace talks in Maldives

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban say they are not attending peace talks with the Afghan government in the Maldives.

Maldives spokesman Mohamed Zuhair said Thursday that representatives of the Afghan government and Taliban members were meeting in the island nation this week to discuss an end to the nearly nine-year war.

A Taliban statement e-mailed to reporters Friday said those at the talks claiming to be from the Taliban are no longer active members and have “surrendered” to President Hamid Karzai’s government.

The talks were organized by Hizb-i-Islami, a Taliban-allied insurgent group which began negotiations with the government last March. The government says it has no representative at the talks either although lawmakers are attending unofficially.