Taliban turn down US request to hand Osama

ISLAMABAD (NNI): The Afghanistan ruling Taliban have again turned down the United States request to hand over Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden for trial on charges of terrorism, renewing assurance that he will not operate against the US from the Afghan soil.

The matter came under discussion in a high level meeting between the Taliban officials and a high level US delegation in a meeting held here on Thursday night, according to a post-meeting report of the Afghan embassy dispatched to the Taliban leadership both in Kabul and Kandahar.

The US delegation comprised US Assistant Secretary of State Karl Inderfurth, Donald Camp, a senior official at the US National Security Council and Michael Sheehan, Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism at the State Department

The four-page report said that the head of the Taliban delegation, Amir Khan Muttaqi renewed his governments policy about Osama bin Laden, and assured the American team that Osama would not be allowed to operate against the United States from the Afghan soil.

Michael Sheehan, the US National Security Council official said: "We know that you people are not willing to hand over Osama for trial. But it is the demand of our government that terrorists should not escape justice. This has been the policy of the US government for three years," he said.

Muttaqi said Osama was not a big issue, but the United States blew it out of proportion. "Now every event in the world is linked with Osama. The Us policy has made him a hero in the Muslim world. If he is arrested or killed, there would be a strong reaction," he warned.

The Afghan leader said that Osamas presence in Afghanistan was in the interest of the United States. "I assure you that Osama cannot do anything against the United States. The Taliban are against terrorism," he asserted.

The Taliban had floated three proposals to the US for the solution of the Osama issue, which were not accepted by the US. The proposals were: US should produce evidence to substantiate Osamas involvement in terrorism; Osama issue should be solved by religious scholars; an OIC delegation should monitor his activities in Afghanistan.

The American delegation said that the expulsion of Osama bin Laden and his trial is the demand by the US and the United Nations. "We want Osama brought to justice, they said.

Muttaqi said that the issue needed further discussion. "The Taliban want to find out a solution to the problem. Our desire is to get the issue settled peacefully and through negotiations."

He said that the people of Afghanistan reacted strongly to the UN and US sanctions imposed on the war-shattered Afghanistan.

"The United States is a big country, and its leadership should demonstrate patience. This is a recognized principle in the world that nothing could be solved through coercion and force. It was proved when the former Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Some 1.5 million Afghans laid their lives while 5 million took refuge, but they did not bow before the Soviet invaders," he said.

He warned the US to be careful about the reports it has been receiving about Osama. "We are Muslims and when we promise that Osama will not be allowed to use Afghan soil, Washington should trust us."

He said called for a positive approach by both sides to find out a solution of the problem, and work for the rehabilitation of the war-torn Afghanistan.