None of the Afghans moved as the rockets landed.  “All stood [still] including 300 women, they were defiant. The signal was ‘we are used to this, we are ready for it but we want to continue’,” Staffan de Mistura told the BBC. The meeting is continuing.

An official in charge of organising the event, Farooq Wardak, said three heavily-armed militants dressed in burkas were involved in the attack. Police later said they had surrounded a home in Kabul where suspected insurgents, believed to be responsible for the attack, were holed up. Two people, described as suicide bombers, were killed and one was arrested in connection with the attack, Karzai’s spokesman said.

The Taliban have been waging a battle to overthrow the US-backed government and expel the 130,000 foreign troops there. The attack underscored the Taliban’s opposition to what they have dubbed as a “phony reconciliation process” stacked with Karzai’s supporters and an ignored female presence. They insist they will not negotiate until all foreign troops leave the country. Abdullah Abdullah, Karzai’s main rival in last year’s presidential election, declined to attend the conference, saying the hand-picked delegates do not represent Afghan public opinion.

The jirga is due to finish late on Friday, with a declaration expected on what steps should be taken to end the insurgency, which groups should be included in the process, and how they should be approached.  President Karzai has proposed offering an amnesty and reintegration incentives to low-level Taliban who accept the constitution. He has also offered to negotiate the removal of some Taliban from a UN blacklist, and to give certain leaders asylum in another Islamic country for the purpose of holding peace talks.

The United States has already promised financial help for the program to lure Taliban foot soldiers to give up fighting.

For more information, please see:

The Huffington  Post – Taliban Attacks Afghanistan Peace Conference – 2 June 2010

BBC News – Violence mars Afghanistan peace meeting in Kabul – 2 June 2010

Al Jazeera English – Taliban attacks Afghan peace jirga – 2 June 2010

Image Courtesy of The National Post