KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan President Hamid Karzai offered Sunday to provide security for the Taliban’s reclusive leader if he agrees to enter peace talks and said the U.S. and other Western nations could leave the country or oust him if they disagree.
Karzai’s comments come as international political and military leaders are increasingly mulling whether negotiating with the Taliban is necessary as the insurgency gains sway in large areas of Afghanistan.
Karzai has long supported drawing the Islamist militia into the political mainstream on the condition that it accepts the country’s constitution.
“If I hear from (Mullah Omar) that he is willing to come to Afghanistan or to negotiate for peace and for the well-being of the Afghans so that our children are not killed anymore, I as a president of Afghanistan will go to any length to provide protection,” Karzai said at a news conference in Kabul.
“If I say I want protection for Mullah Omar, the international community has two choices: Remove me or leave if they disagree,” he said.
Omar, the one-eyed leader of the Afghan Taliban, headed the government that hosted al-Qaeda and was toppled by the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. Since then, he has been in hiding but is thought to be running the insurgency. Previously, Karzai has said Omar lives in neighboring Pakistan, an allegation dismissed by Pakistani officials.
Seven years after the invasion, violence has reached record levels, with insurgent attacks up by 30 percent compared with 2007.
The Taliban is present in large parts of Afghanistan’s south and east and is increasingly encroaching on Kabul, the capital.
In September, Taliban members met with Afghan and Pakistani officials during a dinner hosted by Saudi Arabia’s king, but there were no concrete results from the meeting.
Omar has not directly responded to these calls, but spokesmen associated with the Taliban have previously said their participation in any talks depends on the withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign troops from the country.
Karzai dismissed that, saying foreign troops are necessary for Afghanistan’s security.
