Houston Chronicle
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — With U.S. troops and rival militia factions closing in on their stronghold of Kandahar, the Taliban agreed to raise the white flag of surrender today over their last fortress in Afghanistan, according to spokesmen.
But the euphoria over the radical Islamic movement’s impending demise was tempered by reports that an amnesty might be extended to its supreme leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar. Omar is wanted by the United States for harboring Osama bin Laden and his terrorist al-Qaida network, suspected of carrying out the Sept. 11 attacks.
American officials, whose relentless, two-month bombing campaign had weakened the Taliban and forced it to accept surrender, would object strenuously to such a deal. At a Pentagon briefing, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned that if opposition forces fail to capture and punish Omar, U.S. aid for Afghanistan could be in jeopardy.
"He has been the principle person who has been harboring the al-Qaida network in that country," Rumsfeld said. "He does not deserve the medal of freedom."
Details of the agreement between the Taliban and opposition forces drawn from ethnic Pashtun groups in southern Afghanistan, were vague, as were the outlines of plans for enforcing the deal. Some officials indicated that the agreement was not yet complete, because the talks were still going on.
Nevertheless, spokesmen said the Taliban leadership agreed to lay down their arms beginning today in exchange for amnesty for rank-and-file fighters and for protection for Omar.
"Both sides agreed to the surrender for the welfare of the people, to decrease the casualties to life and to protect the dignity of the people," a former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salem Zaeef, told reporters.
Today "the Taliban will start surrendering their weapons," he said.
The opposition commander at Kandahar — Hamid Karzai, a Pashtun tribal leader who was tapped Wednesday to lead a new Afghan government beginning Dec. 22 — had been negotiating for several days with Taliban leaders and confirmed that a deal had been reached.
A possible amnesty for Omar would conform to the tribal code of the Pashtuns, the dominant ethnic group in Afghanistan. The code, known as "Pashtunwali," holds that an enemy must be granted amnesty if he asks for it and that the leader accepting a surrender must ensure the safety of all the people handing over their weapons and abandoning the fight.
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