Mullah Omar can run for president:Karzai

[Ogopogo]

http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-58516 ... nt:-Karzai

Mullah Omar can run for president:Karzai

July 12, 2012 - Updated 1445 PKT
From Web Edition

[Mullah Omar can run for president:Karzai]

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By AFP

KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai called Thursday on Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar to give up fighting his US-backed government in return for the chance to run for president of the war-torn nation.



Mullah Omar, the one-eyed Taliban leader who has been on run since the United States toppled his regime in late 2001, is one of the world's most wanted men and is leading a Taliban insurgency aimed at ousting Karzai.



Karzai has repeatedly called on Omar and other insurgents fighting against

his administration to renounce violence and accept peaceful reintegration.



"I repeat my call on all Afghans, those who aren't the puppets of others and have (only) issues with us at home -- they're welcome for any talks," he told a news conference.



"Mullah Mohammad Omar can come inside Afghanistan anywhere he wants to. He

can open political office for himself but he should leave the gun.



"He along with his friends can come and create his political party, do politics, become a candidate himself for the elections. If people voted for

him, good for him, he can take the leadership in his hand," Karzai said.



The Taliban have repeatedly turned down Karzai's peace offers and earlier this year withdrew from exploratory talks with the United States in Qatar.

[mindyrbusiness]

Suicide bomber kills top official, 22 more at Afghan wedding
http://www.reuters.com/article/slidesho ... 120714#a=1
By Bashar Ahmad

MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan | Sat Jul 14, 2012 5:50am EDT

(Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed a prominent anti-Taliban politician and 22 other guests at a wedding reception in the northern Afghan province of Samangan on Saturday, officials said.

The bomber blew himself up as he hugged lawmaker Ahmad Khan Samangani, who was celebrating his daughter's marriage, police said. The blast also killed the provincial intelligence chief and a senior police commander.

Samangani was close to Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, and commanded thousands of men in the area. The Uzbeks are part of an uneasy coalition of minority tribes that fight the Taliban in their area.

The attack, among the most lethal in recent months, raises the risk of greater insecurity in the relatively peaceful province, analysts said.

At least 23 people were killed and 60 others wounded, said a statement from President Hamid Karzai condemning the attack.

"The enemies of Afghanistan once again targeted mujahideen figures who strive for national unity," Karzai said.

The wounded were in critical condition and the death toll could rise, said regional police spokesman Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai.

Samangani had told guards at the party not to inconvenience guests with security searches, said provincial police chief Khalil Andarabi.

The Taliban, which has been behind a series of suicide attacks this year, denied responsibility. The group often distances itself from attacks with high civilian death tolls.

"We don't have a hand in this," spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. "Ahmad Khan (Samangani) was a former commander of the mujahideen, he was notorious and many people could have had problems with him."

Samangani, an ethnic Uzbek, fought against the Soviets in the 1980s, and against the Taliban during their 1996-2001 rule. He may have had enemies other than the Taliban, said Kabul-based political analyst Waheed Mujhda.

"Former warlords have frequently been targeted in the past," he said. "Ahmad Khan Samangani was a strongman in terms of security for Samangan province. His loss will certainly affect security in that region."

Witnesses described scenes of carnage.

"I saw parts of bodies, blood all over the reception," said Ahmad Jawed, a guest at the wedding. "Many wounded people were crying for help."

Another witness, Barat Khan, said: "It took some 15 minutes for the smoke to clear, then I saw bodies and pools of blood."

Afghanistan is experiencing some of the worst violence since the Taliban government was toppled by U.S.-led Afghan forces more than a decade ago.

In a separate incident on Saturday, a police official was gunned down in the southern city of Kandahar, the governor's spokesman said.

On Friday, a car bomb killed a leading female politician, Hanifa Safi. No one has claimed responsibility.

(Additional reporting by Mohammad Hamed and Miriam Arghandiwal in Kabul; Writing by Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Daniel Magnowski)

[RedDog]

Karzai is a dead man walking. His view on anything is irrelevant.

[Alec Bachlow]

Mullah Omar would be insane to take this offer and expect to live. Even if the offer is in good faith it does not matter..It is so complex - so intertwined with intrigue that an "accident" would most certainly take place...No one in that nation has real security.
Karzai if you remember was pouting a while back and threatened to turn his back on the west and join the "enemy"- The guy is loyal to no one. The west can't trust Karzai - The Mullah Omar does not trust the west or Karzai..It's like a Mexican stand off- a bunch of guys up to their ankles in gasoline and all holding a lit match.

It is a hopeless situation...all the money in the world dumped into this region will just get soaked up...as for the citizens..reports are that half of them are drug addicted.

Looking at the Afghan adventure at the start...I said one thing to myself- If opium production drops..then the mission is legitimate- if it continues to rise then it is illegitimate.

So far opium production is way up- I would say watch the place and stop wasting time their..The whole pretense for the western invasion was based on terrorist training camps..after 9 11....It is stunning that all the air pirates were Saudi Arabians - the affair was financed by the Saudis....apparently they invaded the wrong country- small error I suppose.