The Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, feeling the pressure from his diminishing popularity, has been hinting he wants to negotiate a deal to draw at least some
“„Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban’s former ambassador to Pakistan, said the hard-line militants sat with Afghan officials and Saudi King Abdullah over an important religious meal in Saudi Arabia late last month. But he denied that the get-together could be construed as peace talks.
“„A spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai declined to comment.