One of the most senior leaders of Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime vowed on Sunday to continue the jihad, or holy war, against the United States and its Afghan allies.
Mullah Mohammed Hasan Rehmani, former governor of the Kandahar province and a close associate of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, was speaking to Reuters by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location in his first interview since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001.
"The Taliban will... struggle for peace, implementation of Islamic sharia law, and against America and its agents," Rehmani said.
Afghan officials say the Taliban appears to be regrouping this year and blame the hardline militia for a series of attacks on American and Afghan government troops in recent months.
The say Rehmani fled to Pakistan with many other senior Taliban leaders after the movement was ousted.
Rehmani also denounced Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
"Right now Hamid Karzai's position is not that of a president but that of an American clerk and a toy in the hands of the Northern Alliance.
"We invite Hamid Karzai to seek forgiveness for his sins from Allah, like a true Muslim, and by joining the Taliban movement prove that he is a Muslim," he said.
