Afghanistan - Saudi Arabia - Taliban

Saudi Arabia denies offering Mullah Omar asylum

Sunday 23 November 2008

German magazine Der Spiegel had reported that Saudi King Abdullah offered political asylum to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar in agreement with US President George W. Bush and Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

BERLIN - King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has offered political asylum to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, German weekly Der Spiegel reported on Saturday, a move which Saudi Arabia later denied.

The offer had been pushed by U.S. President George W. Bush and Afghanistan's 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.

"Concerning what some international media reported about Saudi Arabia offering political asylum to the Taliban leader, an official source at the Saudi foreign ministry outrightly denied the story," the Saudi Press Agency said.

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 U.N. conference in New York this month.

Omar is suspected to be hiding in the mountainous areas along the Afghan-Pakistani border.

Karzai has said he will guarantee the safety of Omar if he wants to talk peace to end the hardline Islamist group's insurgency.

Saudi Arabia has a history of providing sanctuary for exiled and controversial politicians, including Uganda's Idi Amin, who died in exile there in 2003.

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates were the main supporters of the Taliban when they ruled from 1996 to 2001. The Taliban were overthrown by U.S.-led troops in 2001, weeks after the Sept. 11 attack on the United States.