Karzai would protect Omar for peace talks

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Sunday he would guarantee security for Mullah Mohammed Omar if the Taliban leader takes part in peace talks.

Karzai told reporters at a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, he would not accede to international pressure to turn Omar over to U.S. officials if the Taliban chief agreed to negotiations with the Afghan government on a peace settlement, The Washington Post reported.

"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."

There has been speculation for several weeks that peace talks are already under way between Karzai's government and insurgent leaders, the Post said. Representatives of Karzai's government met with former Taliban leaders in Saudi Arabia in September -- a meeting the newspaper said has been seen as a potential step toward an agreement to resolve a decades-long conflict between the government and insurgents in Afghanistan.