Karzai blasts allies,says US in talks with Taliban

Karzai denied earlier reports including some based on his own statements that his government was negotiating with the Taliban,but said the US was doing so.

The negotiations have started with those people, he said,referring to the Taliban,God willing,these talks will continue. But foreign military forces and especially America are continuing this process.

US officials have never acknowledged such talks,and the Taliban have denied them categorically. In late May,US officials were reported to have met with an aide to Mullah Muhammad Omar,three times in recent months.

Much of Karzais speech,an address to Afghanistan Youth International Conference,was devoted to broad-ranging criticisms of the coalition forces in Afghanistan,saying their motives were suspect and their weapons were polluting his country.

You remember a few years ago I was saying thank you to the foreigners for their help; every minute we were thanking them, he said. Now I have stopped saying that,except when Spanta forced me to say thank you, referring to national security adviser,Rangin Spanta. Theyre here for their own purposes,for their own goals,and theyre using our soil for that, Karzai said.

Karzai made his remarks as a battle was fought in a downtown wholesale market between gunmen and Afghan security forces. Three policemen,five civilians and one intelligence agent were killed in the skirmish at Mandavi market,said Gen Mohammad Salngi,police chief,Kabul Province. Two would-be suicide bombers were killed before they could detonate their vests. Soldiers were seen dragging the dead body of one of the gunmen,appeared to be shot through the chest and the right eye. The gunman was wearing an Afghan uniform.

Karzai complained of the environmental damage from coalition weapons. Everytime their planes fly it makes smoke,when they drop bombs they have chemical materials in them,our people get killed but also our environment is damaged, Karzai said. Some weapons used by the foreign forces have nuclear components,he said,and that issue was under investigation.

There are 140 countries here in our country,using different explosive materials,chemical materials… We will talk to them and ask about all these things… this has a negative impact on our environment,our people,so we will ask them about this. They should not think we are uneducated and do not know anything.

There are 48 NATO and allied countries with forces here.