Salahuddin Rabbani new Afghan peace council head

The peace council is tasked with reaching out to the Taliban to find a political resolution to the decade-long war.It is hoped that having a new leader after seven months with no one at the helm will give impetus to the group, which has been in the background of insurgent talks with the U.S., Afghan and other world leaders.News of Salahuddin Rabbanis election comes as officials in Kabul are meeting with leaders of another militant group, Hizb-i-Islami, in an effort to bring an end to more than ten years of fighting.Part of the U.S.-led coalitions exit strategy is to gradually transfer security responsibility to Afghan forces. Another tack is to pull the Taliban and other militant factions into political discussions with the Afghan government.The 70-plus members of the Afghan High Peace Council chose Rabbani, an ethnic Tajik and former ambassador to Turkey, to lead the group in an open election, according to a statement released by Karzais office. Rabbani is the son of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani who was killed Sept. 20, 2011 in his home by a suicide bomber posing as a peace emissary from the Taliban.I believe that bringing peace and stability to our country will only be possible through peace, Rabbani said in the statement.The peace process can be successful only if Afghans are in the lead, he said. Otherwise, we cannot achieve things, and we cannot gain the trust of the nation.Rabbani also said that continued fighting has resulted in the long presence of foreign forces on Afghan soil.If we have peace in our country, there will be no reason for the foreign forces to stay, he said.Rabbanis election comes as a delegation Hizb-i-Islami is in Kabul for reconciliation talks. --AP