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15.09.2001, 13:45

Taliban threatens as Pakistan decides

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Taliban threatens as Pakistan decides

September 15, 2001 Posted: 7:31 PM HKT (1131 GMT)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Tension is growing along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan as both countries ready for possible conflict in the region. 

Pakistan has pledged to "fully cooperate" with the United States as it investigates and considers military action after Tuesday's terrorist attacks, senior Bush administration officials have said.

But Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have warned they will consider replying if any neighbor allows its soil to be used in a way that threatens the central Asian nation, says CNN's Nic Robertson.

He also reported that for a short time all foreign nationals would be forced to leave Afghanistan.

The Taliban rely heavily on Pakistan for imports of all kinds. But the possible presence of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden in poverty and drought-stricken Afghanistan is creating a growing rift.

The White House has put extraordinary pressure on Pakistan in recent days to show its commitment to helping the United States, especially after bin Laden, an exiled Saudi millionaire, was identified by U.S. officials as a prime suspect.

Bin Laden lives in Afghanistan, and Pakistan is one of just three nations to recognize the ruling Taliban regime as Afghanistan's legitimate government.

Pakistan decides
Pakistan's top decision-making bodies were meeting on Saturday to discuss how the country will respond to possible U.S. strikes on Afghanistan as the country's press urged military ruler General Pervez Musharraf to tread cautiously.

In the aftermath of attacks on Washington and New York, which may have killed up to 5,000 people, the United States has tested a Pakistani promise to help by presenting a specific wish list.

The list includes requests that Pakistan:

-- Provide the United States with intelligence on bin Laden and the Taliban

-- Close its border with Afghanistan

-- Stop fuel supplies to the Taliban 

-- Allow, if requested, U.S. warplanes access to Pakistani airspace 

As Pakistan's cabinet met, one former Pakistani diplomat, Wajid Shamsulhasan told CNN:"Taliban are not bluffing, they are capable of creating trouble if Pakistan sides with the United States."

It is a critical time for the region, and Shamsulhasan warned of a potential"clash of civilizations" if Islam fundamentalists carried out their threat of a"jihad" that would pit Muslims against Christians.

World leaders should act very cautiously and not be trigger happy, he advised.

Earlier Friday, Pakistan's ambassador to Russia said his country would cooperate with the U.S."100 percent" on the issue of borders but speculated that Pakistan could have difficulty completely sealing its border with Afghanistan.

"Taliban threats"
But Pakistan's mulling of U.S. demands comes as the ruling Taliban issued a statement on Saturday, threatening any neighboring country that helps the United States stage an attack on Afghanistan.

"If any regional or neighboring country helps the United States attack us it would spark extraordinary dangers ... It would draw us into a reprisal war," said Abdul Salam Zaeef, Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry did not mention a specific country, but the measure was clearing aimed at Pakistan.

Taliban's supreme leader told his nation Friday to prepare for holy war amid concerns that the United States would target it for harboring bin Laden.

In a 17-minute radio address, Supreme Leader Mullah Mohammed Omar said the Afghan people should not be afraid and that he was not afraid of dying.

"Prime suspect"
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell went further than any Bush administration official in naming bin Laden a leading suspect in Tuesday's attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Speaking about high-level contacts between the United States and Pakistan since Tuesday's attacks, Powell said"we're looking at those terrorist organizations who have the kind of capacity to conduct the actions of September 11."

"We haven't yet publicly identified the organization we believe was responsible, but when you look at the list of candidates one resides in that region."

When asked if bin Laden was that"candidate," Powell replied:"Yes."

The U.S. wants Afghanistan to expel bin Laden and stop allowing terrorist training in the country.

In a Tuesday night address to the nation, President Bush said,"We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."

Musharraf's stand is seen as increasingly important as the Bush administration works to build an international consensus against the perpetrators of the attacks and for military retaliation.

Without Pakistan's support, Afghanistan becomes further isolated if evidence in the case conclusively points to bin Laden.

Quelle: http://www.cnn.com[/b]

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