Taliban Willing to Talk to U.S. About Bin Laden

KABUL, Afghanistan —  In a surprise announcement, Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia said Saturday that it is willing to engage the United States in wide-ranging talks that could include the status of suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden.

The U.S. government maintains that Bin Laden masterminded the twin bombings of its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania last year and that it wants him deported to the United States to stand trial.

“We are ready to solve all the issues with America, including that of Osama bin Laden,” Taliban Information Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said in a statement. He did not elaborate or promise to hand over Bin Laden.

The Taliban had previously refused to hand over Bin Laden, saying it has no extradition treaty with the United States and Washington has not proved Bin Laden’s involvement in terrorist activities.

Muttaqi said the Taliban wanted good relations with the United States.

U.S. State Department spokesman James Foley said: “We’ve been in discussion with the Taliban over Bin Laden for over a year now.”

The State Department’s coordinator for counter-terrorism, Michael Sheehan, met with the Taliban’s representative in New York, Abdul Hakeem Mujahid, last Monday to discuss Bin Laden.

“We have had discussions with him before that did not result with them stopping to harbor Bin Laden,” Foley said.

Karl F. Inderfurth, assistant secretary of State for South Asia, will meet with Mujahid at the State Department on Monday.

“Dialogue can only be viewed as positive if it leads to the actual hand-over of Bin Laden,” Foley said of the Taliban’s latest offer.

The United States has imposed economic sanctions on the Taliban, which rules about 90% of Afghanistan. The United Nations is threatening limited sanctions against the Taliban if it does not hand over Bin Laden by Nov. 14, a deadline the Taliban has already rejected.

“It’s our policy to have good relations with all the countries of the world, especially with the United States,” Muttaqi said. “We want to solve the issue of Bin Laden with America, but that has to be in line with our Islamic law and the Afghan culture.”

The Taliban says it has tried Bin Laden in an Islamic court and has found him not guilty.

The militia also says Bin Laden is not allowed to use Afghan soil for political activities.

“We are ready for talks to remove all the concerns of the United States,” Muttaqi said.

The Taliban consists of Sunni Muslims and mostly Pashtun, the country’s majority ethnic group. The group is fighting northern-based opposition for complete control of Afghanistan.