May 17, 2000

Iran seals border in drugs war - BBC
Iran is planning to seal off its border with Afghanistan in a new move to combat drug smuggling.
Walls and fences equipped with high-tech electronic security are to be built along the 600-mile border to try to stem the flow of heroin.

British Minister Says Taliban Should Be Indicted for Cultivating Opium Poppies
London, May 16, IRNA - The Taliban militia in Afghanistan should be "strongly criticized" for harboring terrorists, creating regional instability and cultivating poppies for drugs, British Foreign Office Minister said Tuesday.

Musharraf Calls for Afghan Cease-fire
ALMA ATA (May 16) XINHUA - Pakistan's Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday called for an immediate cease-fire of all warring parties in Afghanistan, according to reports reaching here from Ashkhabad, capital of Turkmenistan.

MUSHARRAF SUPPORTS TURKMEN GAS PIPELINE TO PAKISTAN
ISLAMABAD May 17, 2000 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf has voiced strong support for a Turkmen gas export pipeline to Pakistan, amid an ongoing tussle for influence over the Caspian's oil and gas

Zahir Shah seeks US support for Loya Jirga
ISLAMABAD (NNI): A delegation of former Afghan King, Zahir Shah, led by Sultan Mahmood Ghazi, has arrived in the United States to seek Washington's political and financial support for the settlement of the Afghan conflict through Loya Jirga.

Foreign interference in Afghanistan still continuing: UN
ISLAMABAD (NNI): The UN special envoy on Afghanistan Francesc Vendrell has said that foreign interference is still continuing in Afghanistan making the problem difficult and complicated but hoped solution to the conflict may possibly be

Pakistan follows non-interference Afghan policy
ISLAMABAD (NNI): Pakistan Tuesday said its policy towards Afghanistan is of strict non-interference and support for the efforts of the Afghan government and the UN for facilitation among the Afghan groups.

Afghanistan agrees to cooperate in anti-smuggling campaign
ISLAMABAD (NNI): The government of Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan has agreed to cooperate with Pakistan in the elimination of smuggling.

PAKISTAN-TALIBAN
SOLUTION OF ISSUES BETWEEN PAKISTAN, TALIBAN `NOT THAT EASY':
ISLAMABAD, MAY 17, IRNA -- COMMENTING EDITORIALLY ON THE VISIT OF TALIBAN'S INTERIOR MINISTER TO ISLAMABAD, PAKISTANI PRESS ON TUESDAY

US, Pakistan nab bin Laden associate
Tuesday, 16-May-2000 4:00PM Story from UPI / ANWAR IQBAL
ISLAMABAD, May 16 (UPI) - FBI agents in Pakistan have identified an Arab national, who tried to escape to Tunisia, as a close associate of terrorism-suspect Osama bin Laden.

Taliban vow to resist UN sanctions
KANDAHAR, May 16: Taliban Foreign Minister Mullah Wakil Ahmad Mutawakkil has said the UN sanctions against Afghanistan are unjust and the Taliban will not step back from their aim. "We want to clarify one thing that whatever sanctions

Putin seen pushing Moscow's role on C.Asian visit
By Mike Collett-White
ALMATY, May 17 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will aim to reassert Moscow's position in the strategic Central Asian region on Thursday and Friday when he visits the former Soviet states of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.