Taliban leader offered amnesty

2005-05-09 12:36

Kabul - Fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and former prime minister and warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar are not excluded from an amnesty offer, Afghanistan's reconciliation commission said on Monday.

Commission chief Sibghatullah Mojaddedi said the amnesty would also cover Afghan detainees held at the US military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

"Yes the amnesty includes these two people, who cannot do anything on their own when people around them surrender," he said, when questioned on the issue by AFP.

"At this moment we announce amnesty for all, so give them some time, let them think about it and contact us," he said.

The two were previously thought to have been excluded from the amnesty offer.

"The amnesty covers those in Guantanamo and Bagram detention centres, and we reached an agreement with our American friends (on that point)," he added.

President Hamid Karzai offered an olive branch to rank-and-file Taliban fighters last year and said all but a hardcore of 150 militants wanted for human rights violations would be able to rejoin the political process.

Several top former Taliban members have since surrendered.

The Taliban were overthrown by a US-led invasion for refusing to surrender Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks but the militia remains active, recently stepping up attacks on foreign and Afghan troops after a quiet winter.

- AFP