January 19, 2000

Afghan leaders, former king, in Rome peace talks
Friday, 19-Jan-2001 10:20PM
ROME, Jan 19 (AFP) - Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini on Friday told Afghanistan's ex-king Zaher Shah and other exiled

Afghan clerics blast UN sanctions as Satanic
KABUL, Jan 19 (AFP) - Afghan prayer leaders Friday rejected new UN sanctions against the ruling Taliban militia as a "Satanic" move to undermine the puritanical Islamic regime.

Business as usual at Taliban embassy in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Jan 19 (AFP) - The only functioning embassy of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia was operating normally here Friday despite fresh UN sanctions requiring its closure, a diplomat said.

Afghan opposition welcomes anti-Taliban UN sanctions
KABUL, Jan 19 (AFP) - Afghanistan's armed opposition Friday welcomed the United Nations' tougher anti-Taliban sanctions but warned that neighbouring Pakistan would try to undermine them.

Pakistani religious extremists threaten US over Afghan sanctions
KARACHI, Jan 19 (AFP) - Pakistani religious extremists Friday threatened US interests here as some 1,500 supporters of Islamic religious parties protested against UN sanctions

UNHCR says needs urgent aid for new Afghan refugees
ISLAMABAD, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The United Nations agency for refugees said on Friday it needed urgent aid to cope with a crisis created by a dramatic rise in the influx

US Central Command chief here on serious business
CTBT, Kashmir, Afghanistan to figure - Frontier Post 1/19/01
ISLAMABAD - General Tommy R Franks, Commander-in-Chief, United States Central Command, arrived in Islamabad Thursday evening for wide-ranging

Afghanistan's Poorest Say UN sanctions Hurting Them Most - By Kathy Gannon JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AP)--Smack in the middle of eastern Nangarhar province, where suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden is said to be operating

Osama gave $10 million to Nawaz Sharif - The Friday Times (Pakistan) 1/19/01
Quoted in Khabrain, Ms Benazir Bhutto said that Osama bin Laden had given Nawaz Sharif 10 million dollars to ger rid of her government. This deal was mediated

Tough time ahead for Taliban - Frontier Post editorial 1/19/01
from tomorrow, Saturday, January 20, the second stroke of the UnitedNations sanctions against the Taliban regime in Kabul go into effect. This could be the most ruinous

Afghan capital tense as UN sanctions take effect
KABUL, Jan 19 (AFP) - Afghanistan's war-weary capital was quiet but tense Friday as a UN deadline for the ruling Taliban militia to hand over indicted terrorist Osama bin Laden expired and new sanctions took effect.

New UN sanctions on Taleban - By Kate Clark in Kabul - BBC
The UN Security Council has imposed fresh sanctions against the Taleban in Afghanistan after they failed to hand over Osama Bin Laden.

Exiled Afghan opposition, former king, to meet in Rome
ROME, Jan 18 (AFP) - Afghanistan's ex-king Mohammed Zaher Shah and opposition leaders living in exile will meet in Rome this weekend, the Italian foreign ministry said Thursday.

Drought hits Afghan opium crop: UNDCP
ISLAMABAD, Jan 18 (AFP) - Afghanistan's opium crop dropped 29 percent from a record 4,581 tonnes in 1999 to 3,276 tonnes last year due mainly to severe drought, the United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) said Thursday.

Pakistan feels the heat over UN's Afghan sanctions
ISLAMABAD, Jan 18 (AFP) - Pakistan faces a diplomatic dilemma and mounting international pressure over its cosy ties with Afghanistan's Taliban Islamic militia, which is facing new UN sanctions from Friday, analysts said.

Taleban protest ahead of sanctions - BBC
KABUL - The Taleban leadership in Afghanistan has repeated its opposition to a new package of United Nations sanctions against it which are due to come into force on Friday.

Taliban ask people not to hold protest demos against UN sanctions
Islamabad, Jan 18 (IRNA) -- Taliban on Thursday asked the Afghan people not to stage any protest demonstrations against the United Nations' sanctions against them.

Musharraf inaugurates Envoysí moot on Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD (NNI): The Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf has highlighted the significance of peace and stability in Afghanistan as it was an important neighbour of Pakistan.

Uzbek Foreign Minister on Jan. 25 for Afghan talks
ISLAMABAD (NNI): Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov is scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on January 25 (Tuesday) for talks with Pakistan on Afghan issue, diplomatic and official sources said Thursday.

US lacks agenda to resolve issues: Taliban envoy
ISLAMABAD (NNI): The Taliban Ambassador in Pakistan, Mulla Abdul Salam Zaeef has said that Taliban are not in favour of worsening ties with the United States but Washington lacks agenda for resolution of problems.

Pakistani Battalions Enter Afghanistan
Thursday, 18 January
Military battalions of Pakistan's army have entered the country's north  in order to launch new operations against Mujahideen positions.

China, Pakistan seek durable peace to Afghan problem
ISLAMABAD (NNI): There has been a complete harmony in terms of Islamabad's and Beijing's policy on Afghanistan as both condemned Soviet aggression, backed Afghan resistance and