Hamid Karzai has said the supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Mohammad Omar, could run for political office and even the Afghan presidency if he abandoned his armed struggle.

The fugitive leader of the Taliban, who is one of the most wanted men in the world, could hold power if enough people voted for him, the Afghan president said.

His comments were the latest in a series of overtures from Mr. Karzai to the insurgent movement which is at war with his government and its NATO backers. He told a news conference: "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," the AFP news agency reported.

"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." Mr. Karzai routinely refers to the Taliban as his brothers and calls on them to join talks and renounce violence.

His approaches have been publicly rebuffed so far and as recently as this week the militants issued a statement denying they were in talks with the "stooge Kabul regime".

Mullah Omar has been on the run since his government was ousted in 2001 and still has a $10 million dollar bounty on his head from the United States government because he "represents a continuing threat to America and her allies".

The American embassy in Kabul declined to comment on Mr. Karzai's offer.

Afghans wary of Mr. Karzai's approaches to the Taliban complain that by calling them brothers he apparently overlooks the large number of civilian casualties they cause and undermines the morale of the police and army fighting them.

Meanwhile the outgoing American ambassador to Kabul, Ryan Crocker, said he thought the chances of another civil war, or an economic collapse were slim after NATO combat troops pull out at the end of 2014.

At the weekend, donors promised $16 billion (£10 billion) of aid to the impoverished nation over the next four years.

He said it was difficult to confirm reports that ethnic factions were rearming in preparation for civil war.

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Editor's Note: Anyone who is concerned with the plight of Afghan women should be chilled by Karzai's statement.


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