Osama expulsion ruled out

Dawn
ISLAMABAD, Jan 24: Afghan Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil on Monday indicated that Afghanistan had no intention to expel Osama bin Laden.

Wanted by the US government on anti-American bombing charges, Osama has been provided safe haven in Afghanistan for several years.

Mutawakil told journalists in a crowded embassy room here that sometime back Osama had desired to leave Afghanistan but the "Americans' negative" attitude towards his (Osama's) demand for provision of assistance for safe transport frustrated his intention. Now Osama was in Afghanistan with safety assured but without his telecommunications facilities, the Afghan minister said.

Mutawakil, who answered queries for nearly an hour, was brief and ambiguous on some of the questions. He, however, volunteered a statement on the Chechnya war, appealing to the humanity, particularly the Muslim world, to extend all possible support to the Chechens.

So far, Afghanistan is the only country to have formally accorded diplomatic recognition to the opposition forces fighting the Russians in Chechnya. Afghanistan would consider in due course whatever help the Chechen fighters sought.

He said that Mulla Rabbani, head of the ruling council in Afghanistan, was expected to visit Islamabad soon after it was hoped that the problems in the way of transit trade to Kabul would be smoothed out in talks with the Pakistan officials.

Mutawakil declared that though Afghanistan was an 'Islamic emirate,' it sought good diplomatic ties with all and was not opposed to having normal diplomatic relations with any state, nor was it in confrontation with any civilization on the basis of religion.

He said, no diplomatic talks could be held with Iranians in Islamabad, contrary to a previous report because the Iranian delegation was not there. He expressed the belief that Iran did not have "capacity" for diplomatic talks although an Iranian delegation was visiting Afghanistan currently to inspect its diplomatic premises in Herat, Kabul and some other cities. However, he was optimistic about the talks taking place after some time.

He said everyone was hurt over the Kashmir situation and urged that an early settlement should be found in accordance with the UN agreements by the United Nations and the OIC.

Afghanistan, he said, was opposed to terrorism and acts like hijacking or taking innocent people hostage. While fighting the Russians in Afghanistan was Jihad, explosion in Kandahar was terrorism, he said.

He accused the Americans of committing terrorism by dubbing states and persons as terrorists. He said Afghanistan supported female education but at present it did not have adequate means to promote it. To a question, he said India continued to recognize Rabbani of the Northern Alliance as head of the state - a fact which ruled out Afghanistan's relations with New Delhi.

The Afghan minister said that he would wait for the arrival of the new representative of the UN secretary-general for Afghanistan and holding talks with him, before offering any comment on the renewed effort to resolve the Afghan imbroglio. Frances Vendrell, a Spaniard UN official, is due in the region early next month.-H.A.