The Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday repeated his offer for talks and called on Taliban and other anti-government groups to give up insurgency.

General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (L) shakes hands with Afghan President Hamid Karzai after a joint news conference at the presidential palace in Afghan capital Kabul, Dec. 22, 2009. [Xinhua]

Karzai, talking to a gathering of hundreds of Shiites who were marking the religious day of Ashura, urged militants to stop killing people and to choose peace for the country's sake.

The president also called on the armed anti-government groups to return home and to play their role in the rebuilding process of the country.

Karzai has made the dialogue offer to Taliban before, but the group rejected the offer, noting that there will be no dialogue with the Afghan administration in the presence of foreign troops in the country.

The Ashura day was marked in Kabul and other cities of Afghanistan amid tight security and so far, no violent incidents have been reported.

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