ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- The Taliban foreign minister has asked the Americans to slow down the bombing campaign so moderates in the Afghan leadership can reconsider their refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden, a Western diplomatic source said Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Mullah Abdul Wakil Muttawakil asked Pakistan to convey the message during a secret visit to this country within the last few days, the source said on condition of anonymity.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell met Tuesday here with President Pervez Musharraf but it was unclear whether the issue was raised and if so what was the U.S. official's response.

The diplomatic source said he believed Muttawakil had returned to Afghanistan.

In Rome, a spokesman for the former Afghan king, Mohammad Zaher Shah, denied reports that Muttawakil had made contact with anyone in the former monarch's entourage.

"That's absolutely wrong," the spokesman, Hamid Sidig, told The Associated Press in Rome.

The 87-year-old former king ruled for four decades before he was toppled in 1973 by his cousin, Mohammed Daoud. He has lived in exile in Rome since then.

The Taliban have denounced Zaher Shah and say he should be ashamed for interfering in the life of a country he abandoned decades ago.