KABUL, Sept 29: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Saturday he would talk to two top insurgent leaders wanted by the United States, in an effort to bring peace to his country.

Mr Karzai also challenged Mullah Mohammad Omar and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leaders of the Taliban movement and the radical Hezb-i-Islami faction respectively, to stand in the forthcoming elections and said he would even offer them government posts if they renounced violence.

The president made the new offer hours after a suicide bombing killed around 30 people in the capital in one of the worst attacks of a bloody insurgency launched by the extremist Taliban that was driven from government in 2001.

But he again rejected the insurgents’ demands that the 50,000 international troops helping Kabul to face the growing Taliban threat must leave for any negotiations to take place.

“We’re ready to talk to all Afghans, any Afghan wanting talks, we’re ready,” Mr Karzai said when asked if he would negotiate with Mullah Omar and Hekmatyar, both of whom have multi-million-dollar bounties on their heads.

If peace could only be brought to Afghanistan through talks, “we’re ready to do it,” he said.

This was his most direct invitation yet to leaders of the growing unrest, with previous offers of talks vague about whether the fugitives were included.

Mr Karzai said that should the men ask, “‘President, give us this or that post in a ministry and we won’t fight,’ if they ask me for such thing, I would immediately accept.” He also said the time for seizing power through force was over, with the country now pursuing democracy.

“Do you want power, do you want government?” the president asked. “There’s elections, come and stand. If you get elected, then welcome.”

The next presidential election is due in 2009.

The US-backed president also said that if he had the addresses and telephone numbers of the elusive leaders, he would send them messages that said: “Mullah Sahib (sir), what benefit do you get in killing and destruction? Come and end this.” Mr Karzai made a similar statement when he made his last offer of talks on Sept 9. His comments then did not explicitly refer to the rebel leaders.

The Taliban responded that it was “fully ready” for talks. But days later, a spokesman said the negotiations would have to guarantee the withdrawal of the US-and Nato-led troops in the country. This is also the stand of Hezb-i-Islami (Islamic Party).

Mr Karzai said the demand was unacceptable. “We won’t let the foreigners leave until our roads are built, our schools, electricity are built, until our police and army are better,” he said.

Asked whether his main supplier of international troops and aid – the United States – would object to talks with men it has listed as “terrorists,” the president said talks would be Afghanistan’s own decision.

“America is not an obstacle to peace talks,” he said, adding that “we have the support of the international community.” Karzai stressed, however, he would never negotiate with Al Qaeda, which is said to be supporting some elements of the Taliban’s insurgency and which was sheltered by the Taliban government.—AFP