London, Mar 9: Leading Afghanistan opposition figures have opposed US President Barack Obama’s call for “moderate” Taliban members to be brought into the mainstream, and warned that co-opting fighters would fail as long as Hamid Karzai’s government is weak and corrupt.

Obama floated the idea of appealing to Taliban adherents who are alienated by the extremism of al-Qaida fighters and might be prepared to switch sides after repeating a successful strategy in Iraq, The Guardian reported.

But opposition figures warned that insurgents groups rarely ceded ground when they thought they were winning.

Former Afghanistan Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani, who is to stand as presidential candidate in the elections in August against Karzai, said: “I don’t know of a single peace process that has been successfully negotiated from a position of weakness or stalemate.”

A Taliban spokesman, who said that the US president’s overture was a sign of weakness, poured cold water on the notion that “moderate” fighters could be easily turned.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadi said: “They say they want to speak to moderate Taliban, but they will not be able to find such people because we are united around the aim of fighting for freedom and bringing an Islamic system to Afghanistan.”

He added that Obama’s comments were a reflection of the fact that the Americans had become tired and worried.

Political analyst Haroun Mir said that even small-time insurgents would not be persuaded to lay down arms at a time when the Taliban was scenting victory over the Afghan Government and its foreign backers. (ANI)