Saudi Arabia denies Taliban leader asylum report

MEDIATOR ROLE: Saudi King Abdullah (pictured) was reported to have hosted talks between Taliban and Afghan officials in Ramadan. (AFP)

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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