Taliban deny existence of training camps

Dawn
ISLAMABAD, Dec 6: Taliban have assured Pakistan of closing down terrorist camps, if any, on their soil. Taliban say they are unaware of such camps in Afghanistan but are ready to eliminate the same if identified by Pakistan, diplomatic sources told APP, here, on Monday.

The issue of terrorist training camps came to the limelight in the wake of acts of religious terrorism in various parts of the country in which a number of innocent people were killed a couple of months back, during the Nawaz government.

Taliban deny existence of any training camps on their soil while they are under intense US pressure to hand over Osama bin Laden who has been accused by the US of supporting terrorism.

Diplomatic sources said that before the US move to impose sanctions on Taliban, the P-5 ambassadors in the Federal Capital were told that sanctions on Taliban would not help deliver Osama bin Laden to the US authorities.

It is an old tradition of the Afghans not to extradite anybody seeking refuge in their soil, according to political scientists. On the other hand, diplomatic observers believe that sanctions on the poverty-stricken Afghanistan will add to the miseries of the poor Afghans.

The contention is that sanctions had never achieved their objective in the past. The best way to have a moderating influence on Taliban, they contend, was to engage them rather than ostracize them.-APP