October 14, 1998

FOCUS-Afghan Taleban says will free 25 Iranians
12:25 p.m. Oct 14, 1998 Eastern KABUL, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's ruling Taleban Islamic movement said on Wednesday it had agreed to release 25 Iranian prisoners in talks with a U.N. envoy seeking to ease tensions between the two sides.
Voice of America

INTRO: THE U-N SPECIAL ENVOY TO AFGHANISTAN, LAKHDAR BRAHIMI, SAYS HIS ONE-DAY VISIT TO AFGHANISTAN (WEDNESDAY) HAS EASED TENSION BETWEEN THE TALEBAN AND
Taliban and Masood locked in bitter fight
Wed 14 Oct 98 - 08:12 GMT

KABUL, Oct 14 (AFP) - Taliban troops and forces loyal to commander Ahmad Shah Masood were locked in bitter fighting Wednesday but neither side had made any significant advances since the militia launched its offensive five days ago, independent sources said.

FOCUS-UN envoy said to meet Afghan Taleban leader
07:20 a.m. Oct 14, 1998 Eastern

ISLAMABAD, Oct 14 (Reuters) - A U.N. envoy seeking to ease tensions between Iran and Afghanistan's ruling Taleban Islamic militia met Taleban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar on Wednesday, a Taleban spokesman said.
Saudi Arabia denies asking for bin Laden's extradition
Wed 14 Oct 98 - 13:31 GMT

RIYADH, Oct 14 (AFP) - Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef ibn Abdel Aziz on Wednesday said the freeze between Riyadh and the Taliban was not due to the Islamic militia's refusal to extradite Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden.

Voice of America

INTRO: THE UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL ENVOY TO AFGHANISTAN -- LAKHDARBRAHIMI IS MEETING (WEDNESDAY) WITH THE TALEBAN LEADER. SARAHHORNER REPORTS MR. BRAHIMI
Taliban accuse Iran of increased meddling ahead of UN talks
Wed 14 Oct 98 - 07:40 GMT

KABUL, Oct 14 (AFP) - Taliban authorites Wednesday accused Iran of escalating its internal interference in Afghanistan hours before a meeting with UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.

Kyrgyzstan Blocks Arms to Anti-Taleban Forces

Global Intelligence Update
Red Alert
October 14, 1998

Analysis

Kyrgyz officials, at a press conference on October 13, announced they had detained a trainload of munitions disguised as humanitarian aid from Iran bound for Afghanistan. The detention of the train signals both a shift in the

Kabul battles forlornly for a normal life

Christopher Thomas writes of a city's search for stability
The Times of London
October 14 1998

THE shattered Afghan National Bank in Kabul has been repaired for the day when there might be something to put in it.

iran calls for establishment of security belt around afghanistan

vienna, oct. 14, irna -- iran's permanent representative to the u.n. european offices mohammad amir-khizi called for establishment of a security belt around afghanistan in an effort to halt smuggling of narcotic drugs to the outside

Pakistan faces a grim military situation on borders

From DR JASSIM TAQUI
Frontier Post
OCTOBER 14, 1998 WEDNESDAY

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan faces a grim military situation on its border with Afghanistan, Iran and India, which is triggering immense tension. For the last one month, Iran has mobilised a quarter million soldiers near the border with

Pak Ulema to broker peace between Iran, Afghanistan

Wednesday 14th October, 1998

TEHRAN, (NNI): Amir Jamaat-e-Islami, Qazi Hussein Ahmed has announced that a delegation of Pakistani Ulema would soon leave for Iran and Afghanistan to defuse tension between the two Muslim states, reports Radio Tehran

Pak terms Brahimi trip to Afghanistan as positive step

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tuesday described UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi's scheduled visit to Taliban's headquarters of Kandahar as a "positive step".

Afghanistan Weekly Update No. 285

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Date: 14 Oct 1998

Pledges and Contributions

The Netherlands government has announced a contribution of US$2.5 million for health, sanitation and water supply projects of the International Committee of the Red Cross..

What next in Afghanistan?

Dawn (Editorial)
MIXED signals are emanating of late from Afghanistan. Not much is as yet known about the progress of the peace initiative launched by the United Nations in the wake of the six-plus-two conference in New York in September. Mr Lakhdar Brahimi,

October 14, 1998
Pak-Iran-Afghan uneasy stand-off
The Nations (Opinion)

Brigadier (Retd) A.R. Siddiqi
The emerging geostrategic - almost war-like - Pak-Iran Afghan stand-off holds an even greater threat and challenge for Pakistan than for the main adversaries - Iran and the Taliban. Afghanistan - presently