Afghan President Hamid Karzai canceled Wednesday a meeting with the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) that was aimed at pushing for dialogue to help reconciliation efforts with the Taliban. The meeting was called off because Karzai had reservations over the agenda, a senior OIC official said, without elaborating. An Afghan diplomat told Reuters that the meeting with the OIC, led by Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, was canceled because the Afghan delegation wanted to visit Madina. Karzai arrived in the Kingdom Tuesday to seek the Riyadh's clout to reconcile with the Taliban during talks with King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The canceled meeting would have addressed the OIC's role in containing Afghan tensions and to follow up on an OIC bid to organize a conference for Islamic scholars from different religious authorities on the Afghan issue, the OIC said. “We understand that Saudi Arabia supports this drive by the OIC for debate among Afghan religious leaders as a means to convince the Taliban to openly abandon Al-Qaeda,” the senior OIC official told Reuters by telephone from Jeddah. Reuters could not immediately reach OIC's Ihsanoglu and Karzai's spokesman Waheed Omer. The OIC has sought under Ihsanoglu - and with the open support of King Abdullah - to play a bigger role in solving Muslim world crises through debate. Karzai had been due to meet Ihsanoglu in Jeddah before meeting King Abdullah in Riyadh later Wednesday. Karzai's visit follows his call at a London conference last week urging Saudi Arabia to help bring peace to Afghanistan. Karzai, in remarks published by Saudi newspapers, said any message from King Abdullah would have a deep impact on the Taliban and other Islamist movements. “His message is obeyed by everyone,” Karzai said in remarks published in Al-Madina newspaper. Riyadh has said the Taliban must deny sanctuary to Al-Qaeda men before it will agree to act as a mediator in any Afghan peace deal.
