ROME, Oct 11: Afghanistan’s ex-president Sibghatullah Mujaddedi arrived here on Thursday for talks with the country’s former monarch Mohammad Zahir Shah, a senior official said.

Yusuf Nuristani, a close associate of Zahir Shah, told AFP that the ex-king had invited Mujaddeddi to come for discussions on his current push for a peaceful solution of the Afghan issue.

“I think he has been invited to come and offer consultations,” Nouristani said.

Mujaddeddi was the first Afghan and anti-Soviet Mujahideen resistance president. He came to power in Kabul in 1992 after communist president Najibullah stepped down.

Though he was often opposed to the ex-king’s role in Afghan politics, his religious family, formerly influential in Kabul, was instrumental in bringing Zahir Shah’s father to power at the beginning of the century.

Mujaddeddi ruled Kabul only for two months.

Hamid Sidiq, an official close to the ex-king, said Italy had tightened security around Zahir Shah since he came into international focus as a possible alternative to the ruling Taliban if the militia is ousted after the US-led strikes.

According to Sidiq, the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Belursconi will discuss Zahir Shah’s possible rule with the American authorities during his impending visit to Washington.—AFP