The former Afghan king, Mr Mohammed Zahir Shah, has suggested that he would be willing to lead an interim government in Afghanistan.
But the Taliban's reclusive spiritual leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, warned Mr Shah not to meddle in Afghanistan's affairs, saying he should live out the rest of his days in peace.
Mr Shah (86), who has lived in exile in Rome since being ousted in a 1973 coup, made his offer yesterday after meeting with a US congressional delegation and with members of the Afghan opposition, the Northern Alliance.
At the end of a week in which Mr Shah met UN envoys, the US charge d'affaires in Rome, British MPs and a delegation of anti-Taliban resistance fighters, the ailing former king also confirmed that groups opposed to Afghanistan's ruling Taliban have agreed to create an allied political and military structure.
But Mullah Omar responded to the king's offer in a speech broadcast on Voice of Shariat radio last night: "Forget Afghanistan, you won't be able to solve the issue of Afghanistan in your lifetime. How dare you think you can return to Afghanistan backed by the United States. How can you think of such things?"
On Friday, a spokesperson for the former king said that opponents of the Taliban regime had created a Supreme Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan and a "military structure with the participation of various resistance commanders and tribal elders and some professional army officers".
After yesterday's meeting with Mr Shah, the Republican congressman Ms Dana Rohrabacher, told reporters: "Our discussions with the king made it very clear that he is willing, ready and able to return to Afghanistan to serve at the head of an interim government - the unifying factor in a government that would be open to everyone."
After meeting last Monday with the UN envoy to Afghanistan, Mr Francesc Vendrell, the former king said he had no ambitions to return to power permanently but believed he could play a role in forming a transitional government.
Later last week, his son said: "My father's heart and mind are still strong. He has never lost hope. While there is still a drop of blood in his body, he will do whatever he can to return home."
Ms Rohrabacher called for a new government that would develop a prosperous country. "What we've got here is a country that the United States helped in the fight against Soviet imperialism and helped them free themselves . . . and then we walked away and provided them no guidance, in fact left them with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, who had their own agenda," she said. "And thus, we end up with these people living in abject poverty and a horrible situation. We owe it to them to help them overthrow the Taliban terrorist regime, which represses them, and we owe it to them to provide the humanitarian support afterward that can help build their country so it can be part of the world community."