Afghanistan's Ghani blasts Taliban 'slaves'

President Ashraf Ghani said Afghanistan faced a terrorist enemy led by Taliban "slaves" in Pakistan in a sombre speech to parliament yesterday that nonetheless left the door open to resuming peace talks with parts of the Taliban.

Addressing a joint session of the two houses of parliament following a Taliban bomb blast that killed at least 64 people and wounded hundreds in Kabul on Tuesday, Ghani branded the insurgents criminals fighting the legitimate government.

But he stopped short of declaring a state of national emergency, pledging war against radical groups like Islamic State, usually known in Afghanistan as Daesh, or the Haqqani network while suggesting there was still some hope of compromise with at least some Taliban.

"The enemies of Afghanistan are Daesh, al Qaeda, the murderous Haqqani network and some of the Taliban who enjoy shedding the blood of countrymen," he said.

He added that the doors of negotiation would remain open for those Taliban ready to stop bloodshed but added: "This opportunity will not be there forever."

He said Taliban leaders sheltering in the western Pakistani cities of Peshawar and Quetta were "slaves and enemies of Afghanistan who shed the blood of their countrymen" and he called on the government in Islamabad to wipe them out.

He did not say whose slaves he thought the Taliban were, but his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, frequently accused Pakistan of harbouring the Taliban and supporting other militant groups such Haqqani network.