Zahir Shah

Interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai is in the Italian capital to escort the former king back to Kabul. Aides say they plan to fly to an unidentified third country before their expected arrival in Afghanistan Thursday. 

U.S. and Italian authorities postponed the king's return for nearly one month because of reports of assassination plots. 

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is promising to provide the king with extraordinary security in Afghanistan. He says Italian security forces will guard the king and his Kabul residence for as long as three months while they train Afghan bodyguards. 

The 87-year-old former king says he is returning home not as a monarch, but as a private citizen. He will preside over June's Loya Jirga, a traditional tribal council. It will choose a transitional two-year government to rule before new elections are held. The Loya Jirga could also decide to keep Mr. Karzai in power. 

Some Afghans believe Zahir Shah is the only one who can truly unite Afghanistan after 22 years of war. But he has said he has no intention of returning to power. 

Zahir Shah fled to Rome after he was overthrown in a 1973 coup. 

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP. 

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