Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, is hoping to launch a peace initiative with the Taliban and allied groups by reaching out to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah.

Karzai arrived in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, on Tuesday, just days after a conference in London discussed ways of curbing corruption in Afghanistan and achieving reconciliation with the Taliban.
World leaders who attended the conference last week demonstrated a concerted effort to reintegrate the Taliban into Afghan society.
The leaders also pledged millions of dollars for a new fund to pay Taliban fighters to lay down arms.
However, Taliban leaders still refuse to openly engage with the Kabul government.
So far, Karzai's repeated peace overtures to the Taliban have resulted only in the surrender of some low-ranking figures.
So his visit to Saudi Arabia comes in hopes that the kingdom's prestige in the Muslim world will help persuade important Taliban leaders to join peace negotiations.
Karzai will hold talks with Abdullah on ""national reconciliation in Afghanistan and in the region"" during his visit, the presidential palace in Kabul said in a statement on Wednesday.
He is also expected to summon a ""loya jirga"", or grand council of elders and influential figures, in the near future.
Hussein Shobokshi, a Saudi columnist for the Alsharq Alawsat newspaper, told Al Jazeera recently that there are elements in the Taliban who believe it is time for serious dialogue with the Kabul government to find a peaceful solution to the problems.
Taliban leaders have insisted, however, that all Western forces must withdraw from Afghanistan before they will agree to talks.
Karzai rejected that precondition on Sunday, saying the Taliban should strive for peace first so that the troops can leave.
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Tuesday from Jeddah, Robert Lacey, an expert on Saudi politics, said involving Riyadh's in peace efforts with the Taliban would help significantly.
""The Saudis were the first foreign patrons of the Taliban.
[The Saudis] welcomed them and saw them as the new way ahead and liked their austere religious attitude,"" he said.
""The Saudis were also the very first government along with the United Arab Emirates
[and Pakistan] to recognize the Taliban.""
(Source AlJazeera)