LONDON: THE UK will have to negotiate with the Taliban in the future to achieve peace in Afghanistan, Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, predicted last night.
Mr Browne also warned there was "no possibility" of establishing a western legal system there and argued that an "Islamic-based" solution must be accepted instead. Mr Browne said Britain must be prepared for a commitment in Iraq and Afghanistan lasting for decades - or even generations. He was speaking at a fringe event hosted by the IPPR think-tank at Labour's Bournemouth conference.
Mr Browne told delegates: "In Afghanistan, at some stage, the Taliban will need to be involved in the peace process because they are not going away any more than I suspect Hamas are going away from Palestine.
"But in my view, those who convene that process are entitled to say there are some basic parameters that people ought to apply to their engagement." He added: "People need to stay with these discussions, with these engagements, through their difficulties."
Mr Browne also said: "We must accept that we must find some solution that has its roots in Islamic law. "I don't want to tell you the colour of the face of the Swedish defence minister when I suggested to her it may be necessary for us, in order to get to where we want to be, for us to accept that there is some route through an Islamic-based legal system." | 
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