*ISLAMABAD:* Afghan Taliban have reacted over the latest peace conferencebeing held in Uzbekistan.

Taliban have not been invited to an upcoming peace conference in Uzbekistanthat will mainly focus on the prospects for reconciliation in Afghanistan,two Taliban officials said earlier in the week.

The conference titled ”Peace Process and Cooperation in the field ofSecurity and Regional Cohesion’ is scheduled to be held in Tashkent onMarch 26-27. Representatives from all regional countries, includingPakistan, as well as the United States will attend the conference.

As there is no let up in Afghan war and Daesh is posing a serious threat toAfghanistan’s neighbours, Uzbekistan has also stepped up efforts to help inthe reconciliation process.

All regional countries are now on same page to press for a politicalsolution as the military option is increasingly being looked at as havingfailed in defeating the Taliban, besides the emergence of Daesh has furtheraggravated the situation in Afghanistan and the region.

A Taliban spokesman and a political representative said they have notreceived any invitation for the Tashkent moot.

“We have not been invited,” the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid toldDaily Times in response to a query posted on his WhatsApp. Taliban’srelations with Uzbekistan have been tense because of its support to theanti-Taliban Northern Alliance, according to Taliban leader, who servedduring the Taliban rule in 1996-2001.