KABUL, April 21: Former Afghan king Mohammed Zahir Shah insisted on Sunday that he had no intention of reclaiming his throne after returning from 29 years in exile, he said in a statement to official media.

“I have not come to try and restore the monarchy, but I want to be close to my people and help them solve the problems of the last three decades,” he told the Bakhta news agency.

“I have come to spend rest of my life with my people. I absolutely back the interim administration headed by Hamid Karzai. Hamid Karzai is patriot Afghan and has given sound leadership to our country.”

Zahir Shah returned home Thursday from Italy where he had been living since he was ousted in a 1973 coup led by his cousin Mohammed Daoud after which Afghanistan was declared a republic.

Although he has shown little enthusiasm for a return to the throne, some members of his family have already begun to float the idea of a constitutional monarchy as seen in Britain and the Netherlands with the king above the political fray.—AFP