March 16, 2000

Afghan Leaders' Holiday Messages Reflect Differrent Perspectives
Taliban Accused of Pursuing Military Option Despite Talk of Peace
By Omar Samad
WASHINGTON, March 16, 2000, (AAR) - The arrival of two major holidays for Afghans, one religious and the other traditional, only a few days apart from each other, has unleashed a flurry of greeting messages by Afghan leaders -- past and

Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden dying: report
.c Kyodo News Service
HONG KONG, March 16 (Kyodo) - Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, the suspected terrorist believed responsible for bombing two U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998, is dying of kidney failure, the Hong Kong-based regional magazine Asiaweek

Fresh fighting erupts in northern Afghanistan - Frontier Post (Pakistan)
KABUL (Online) __ Fighting between the Afghan government and Northern Alliance has again erupted after a weeklong break.

Dostum to resume military operations against Taliban
ISLAMABAD (NNI): The former Afghan warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum would soon leave for Afghanistan to rally his forces and launch military operations against the ruling Taliban in northern Afghanistan.

Dostum and Malik Attempt Reconciliation
WASHINGTON - March 15, 2000 (AAR) - Two formerly allied Afghan factional leaders, whose rivalry and mutual distrust contributed to the advance of Taliban forces in Northern Afghanistan in 1997, announced an

FOCUS: Clinton to urge Musharraf to address U.S. concerns
.c Kyodo News Service
WASHINGTON, March 15 (Kyodo) - By: Keiji Urakami U.S. President Bill Clinton will make a historic visit to Pakistan next week to urge its military government to show a road map toward cracking down on terrorism, curbing nuclear

Pakistani, Afghan Militant Groups .c The Associated Press
Following are some of the Islamic militant groups the United States is pressuring Pakistan to close down or ban:
HARAKAT-UL-MUJAHEDEEN: Previously Harakat-ul-Ansar, but changed its name after United States declared the

Pakistani Militants Bite Their Lips
By KATHY GANNON .c The Associated Press
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - U.S. officials are pressuring Pakistan's army rulers for a crackdown on militant Islamic groups ahead of President Clinton's visit next week, but senior Pakistani officials have resisted, saying the militants pose no danger to

Omar accuses west of subjecting Muslims to atrocities
ISLAMABAD (NNI): The supreme leader of the Taliban Mulla Mohammad Omar has accused the western countries of subjecting the Muslims to poverty and depriving them of their international rights by imposing sanctions on the.

Afghanistan's Taliban criticise UN human rights rapporteur
KABUL, March 14 (AFP) - Afghanistan's ruling Taliban Tuesday criticised UN Human Rights special rapporteur Kamal Hossain for "making propaganda" against the Islamic fundamentalist militia. Anis, an official Taliban newspaper, carried a

PPP denounces appointment of retired generals as ambassadors
ISLAMABAD March 15 (NNI): Pakistan Peoples Party on Wednesday denounced the appointment of seven retired army generals as envoys, saying it would prove detrimental to the moral of civil bureaucracy.