Mulla Omar advised US Congress to seek Clinton's resignation on Lewinsky episode

Islamabad, Oct. 13 (ANI): In 1998, Taliban leader Mulla Omar had advised the US Congress to force Bill Clinton to resign as President following revelations of his sex tryst with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, State Department documents have disclosed.

In his first direct contact with Washington through a mid-ranking official, Omar had sought assistance in reconstructing Afghanistan.

"Omar said that while he had no specific message, he did have some advice," The News quoted a declassified document, as saying.

In his telephonic conversation with a director-level State Department official Malinowski, Omar's advice was that rebuilding US popularity in the Islamic world required the Congress to force President Clinton to resign.

The US should also withdraw its forces from the Gulf, especially from Saudi Arabia, he added.

He said he needed US assistance in reconstructing his country. On this request, the US official said it could not be expected as long as Osama was there.

Omar said he had "seen no hard evidence against Bin Laden."

Rejecting Omar's claim, the US official said his country had undeniable evidence about the involvement of Osama.

Omar then said the Taliban were bound to provide shelter to their guests as per the traditional code of Pushtunwali.

According to the document, the translator had approached Malinowski on August 21, 1998, to confirm his willingness to speak "with one of the Taliban's top leaders."

Upon consent, Malinowski was called at home in early hours of August 22, and hooked into a conference call on an open line with the Taliban's headquarters in Kandahar.

"After conversation began with a Taliban aide, Omar surprisingly came on the line," said the document. (ANI)