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KABUL, Afghanistan–As international pressure mounts for negotiations with insurgents, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said yesterday he would guarantee the security of elusive Taliban chief Mullah Mohammed Omar if he decides to enter talks.
Striking a defiant tone, Karzai said during a news conference in the Afghan capital he would not bow to demands from the international community to turn Omar over to U.S. authorities if the Taliban leader agreed to negotiate a peace settlement with Karzai's government.
"As for Mullah Omar and his associates, if I hear from him that he is willing to come to Afghanistan or to negotiate for peace and for liberty so that our children will not be killed anymore, I as the president of Afghanistan will go to any length to provide him security," Karzai said.
"If I say I want protection for Mullah Omar, the international community has two choices: remove me or leave," he added.
Karzai delivered his remarks after weeks of speculation that negotiations are already underway between the Afghan government and insurgent leaders.
In September, several representatives from Karzai's government met with former Taliban leaders in Saudi Arabia. That meeting was widely viewed as the potential first step on what could be a long road to a negotiated settlement to end the decades-long conflict in Afghanistan.
While U.S. military officials have called for NATO allies to augment the estimated 62,000 foreign troops already in Afghanistan, Afghan and U.S. officials have tacitly acknowledged that negotiating with moderate Taliban commanders is a key part of a strategy they're currently considering.
