KABUL - The governor of northern Balkh province, Atta Mohammad Noor, has said no foreign country has the right to hold direct talks with the Taliban without consulting the people of Afghanistan.
On the sidelines of the second Bonn conference, the US, Germany and Qatar agreed to set up a Taliban office in Qatar, a move supported by the Afghan government and welcomed by the fighters.

"I don't want to say anything about President Hamid Karzai's remarks," Noor said, when asked about the president's agreement with the idea of the Taliban's liaison office in Doha.

"It is a deal between the US and Taliban. My opinion is that Taliban are involved in killing Afghans and violations of human rights," Noor told reporters in Kabul on Sunday evening.

He said nobody had the authority to make a decision on the Afghan government-led reconciliation plan. He added any decision in this regard should be taken with the consent of the Afghans.

Noor, a former jihadi commander, said the US followed its own policies and strategies to bring peace to Afghanistan. The Afghans must be consulted on any move toward stabilizing the country, stressed the governor, who opposed any deal that deprived Afghans of their fundamental rights and endangered their lives and property.

He said the people of Afghanistan wanted an environment in which they felt secure. The achievements made over the past decade must be preserved, he continued.

About the Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan, Noor said any group willing to accept the constitution, lay down their weapons and enter normal life was welcomed to peace talks.

Last week, a high-level HIA delegation held talks with President Hamid Karzai and other high government officials at the Presidential Palace, the group's political office head in Europe, Qarib-ur-Rahman Saeed, said on Tuesday.
Aimal Faizi, a presidential spokesman, has confirmed the talks.