Afghan king says US war on terror is 'useless'

Afghanistan's exiled king has been quoted as describing the US-led war on terror as "stupid and useless" and calling for its immediate end.

Italian newspaper La Stampa has run the comments by Mohammad Zaher Shah.

But denying there was any interview, Hamid Sidig, the king's secretary, declined to comment on the assessment of the anti-terror war as being useless.

La Stampa ran the king's comments in what it said was an interview conducted at the king's villa.

Later, La Stampa said its journalist had gone into the villa as part of an Italian delegation paying a call on the king. The king was not aware that a journalist was among his guests when he made his remarks, it said.

The paper quoted the 87-year-old monarch, who has lived in Rome since 1973 when he was ousted in a coup as saying: "(It is) a stupid and useless war and it would be better if it ended immediately."

"My people have always fought for freedom and democracy," he added, saying the terrorists are "foreigners who come from other parts of Asia ... to disturb and destroy my people."

The king had said previously he wanted to be back home in time for March 21, a spring holiday that was banned by the Taliban regime which was ousted last fall during the US led military intervention in Afghanistan.

In the published comments, he declined to give the exact date, but said his return would happen very soon.