Karzai offers Taleban safety deal

President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan has offered to provide security for the Taleban's reclusive leader, Mullah Omar, if he agrees to peace talks. Mr Karzai made the offer despite the multi-million dollar bounty offered for the militant leader's capture by the United States. He said that if the US and other Western countries disagreed, they could either leave the country or remove him.

Date

20081116