ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – The Taliban denounced an interim Afghan administration named Wednesday at U.N.-sponsored talks in Germany, saying Afghans would never accept a government organized by a foreign power.
"Any government imposed on Afghans from abroad can't be accepted," said Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban's former ambassador to Pakistan. "We reject this interim government. ... We will continue to fight against the puppets of America."
Zaeef, who served in his post until Pakistan recently closed the Taliban embassy, said the planned administration — with anti-Taliban leader Hamid Karzai at its head — represented only the interests of Western nations, and would damage the dignity of all Afghans.
"Karzai cannot solve the problems of the Afghan people," he said.
The talks in Germany brought together four Afghan factions, who signed a pact Wednesday for an administration that will rule for six months before a national council of tribal elders decides on a more permanent government.
The Taliban, under attack by a U.S.-led coalition for their failure to hand over Usama bin Laden, were not invited.
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