05 February 2004	Thursday	13 Zilhaj 1424

NEW DELHI, Feb 4: Afghanistan's former king Mohammad Zahir Shah, 89, was flown on Tuesday night to New Delhi for hospital treatment after complaining of intestinal problems, the Afghan ambassador to India said on Wednesday.

"The doctors say that his situation is stable," Ambassador Massoud Khalili said. "I have spoken to him and he is fine."

The former monarch, who returned to Afghanistan in April 2002 after three decades in exile, had been feeling ill for the past few days, Khaleeq Ahmad, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said in Kabul.

"He was very tired," Ahmad said. "He wasn't feeling well but it's not critical."

"We were informed by the Afghanistan government that he had taken ill," Indian foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said. "Immediate arrangements were made here and he was flown into India last night."-AFP