The Difference A Day Makes: Did Or Didn’t Saudi Offer Taliban Leader Mullah Omar Asylum?
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Saturday, November 22, 2008:
Saudia offers asylum to Mullah Omar
* Spiegel report says offer made at the request of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and US President George W Bush
BERLIN: King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has offered political asylum to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, German weekly Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. The offer had been pushed by US President George W Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the magazine said in an advance report from its Monday edition, quoting government sources in Kabul. It did not give further details.
A Saudi Foreign Ministry official was not available for comment.
Saudi Arabia hosted a meeting between pro-government Afghan officials and former Taliban officials in September for discussions on how to end the worsening conflict in Afghanistan.
An Afghan government official said on Wednesday Afghan government representatives and former members of the Taliban were expected to meet in Saudi Arabia soon for a second round of talks.
The official said Karzai, King Abdullah and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari had discussed the initiative on the sidelines of a UN conference in New York this month.
Omar is suspected to be hiding in the mountainous areas along the Pak-Afghan border.
Karzai has said he will guarantee the safety of Omar if he wants to talk peace. reuters
Sunday, November 23, 2008:
Saudi Arabia denies Taliban leader asylum report
The Saudi government on Saturday denied reports that it has offered political asylum to Afghanistan’s fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.
A foreign ministry spokesman “denies totally the report… according to which Saudi Arabia has offered political asylum to the Taliban leader,” the state news agency SPA reported.
The German news magazine Der Spiegel, in its edition due to appear on Monday, said Saudi King Abdullah had offered asylum to Mullah Omar, quoting sources close to the Kabul government.
The sources said the offer was the result of mediation and pressure from Afghan President Hamid Karzai and US President George W. Bush as part of efforts to seal a reconciliation.
A report in October by newswire Reuters claimed that King Abdullah wa present at an iftar meal during Ramadan in the holy city of Mecca at which officials from both the Taleban and the Afghan government were present.
Karzai said earlier this month that he would go to “any length” to protect Mullah Omar if the Taliban leader agreed to peace talks.
The Afghan president has for years pushed for peace talks with the Taliban which ruled the country before a 2001 US-led invasion, as a way out of a deadly insurgency involving foreign militants, including Al-Qaeda.
The Taliban, driven from government for sheltering Al-Qaeda after the September 2001 terror attacks, have said they would only agree to negotiations if international troops leave Afghanistan.
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