March 7, 2000

OIC meets Taleban in new peace talks in Saudi
RIYADH, March 7 (Reuters) - Officials from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) met a team from the Taleban movement on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia for talks aimed at bringing peace to Afghanistan, OIC officials said.

Pakistan seeks halt in Afghan fighting
ISLAMABAD (NNI): Pakistan has urged Afghanistan ruling Taliban and opposition alliance to halt fighting on the eve of the OIC-sponsored talks between the rival Afghan factions in Jeddah on Monday.

Taliban team to visit Japan, Far East
ISLAMABAD (NNI): The Taliban Deputy Foreign Minister Abdul Rehman Zahid would embark on a tour to Japan on March 8 at the invitation of the Japanese authorities.

Taliban leaders in talks with Turkmen minister - Gulf News
From Zulfikar Raja Our Islamabad Correspondent Senior Taliban leaders arrived in Islamabad from Afghanistan yesterday and held talks with visiting Turkmenistan Foreign Minister Boris Shikhmuradov on the situation in Afghanistan, informed

TALIBAN OFFENSIVE CREATES NEW PROBLEMS FOR PAKISTAN.
AHMED RASHID IN LAHORE.
The Nation
NEWS ANALYSIS.
As President Clinton prepares this month for his trip to South Asia, Afghanistan's Taliban have launched their spring offensive. Faced with intense international pressure the Taliban wants to strengthen their hand, by making a clean sweep of the opposition

Pakistan not isolated: CE
ready for talks with India - F.P. Bureau Report
KARACHI - Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf dismissed as unfounded the impression that Pakistan was facing international isolation in the wake of the October 12 military takeover.

Rethinking Afghan policy options
By Farhan Bokhari - DAWN (Pakistan)
THE two sharply contrasting images of Afghanistan are sufficient to confuse even the most seasoned observers of the twentyone-year-long conflict, searching for ways to assess that country's prospects in the immediate as well as long-term

UK Bishop pledges bail for Afghan hijack victims
By Kate Kelland
LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - A British Bishop said on Saturday he had pledged around 4,000 pounds of church funds to bail out 13 people seeking asylum in Britain after they were held hostage on board an Afghan airliner last month. Richard

Commission on Narcotic Drugs
Forty-third session
Vienna, 6-15 March 2000
As received from Afghan Embassy, Vienna, Austria.
I would like to congratulate you on the continuation of your chairmanship of this session and all officers of the bureau. I take the opportunity to also commend the efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its comprehensive