Pressure on Pak. to get Kabul throw out Osama

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, JULY 3. The Bush administration is pressuring Pakistan into leaning on Afghanistan to throw out Osama bin Laden and shut down his operations, says The Washington Times, quoting administration officials.

During his recent visit here, the Pakistani Foreign Minister, Mr. Abdul Sattar, was apparently told by officials that Washington had a `growing body of evidence' that Islamabad was violating the United Nations sanctions against the Taliban by giving military assistance to the extremist outfit.

What is being pointed out is that while the United States has raised this issue with Pakistan before, it was not at such high levels; and for the first time the Bush administration is saying it has `proof' of sanctions-busting by Pakistan.

``We know the Pakistanis are giving moral and political support to the Taliban. It's likely they are also giving them some advice on how to conduct military operations. Before the sanctions they were giving the Taliban assistance with fuel and perhaps some ammunition,'' an official has said.

One set of officials here are saying that the administration has proof that Pakistan is providing arms, training and other military support to the Taliban. For instance, it is said that Pakistani military officers can be heard talking on radios in Afghanistan.

But a State Department official has said that he was not aware of any `proof' in the possession of the United States that Islamabad was violating the UN embargo. ``We don't have the smoking gun,'' the State Department official has said. The same official has also cautioned that the United States has very little leverage with the military rulers of Pakistan.

``He (Mr. Sattar) received a very straightforward message... It is in their interest to change their orientation,'' an official has told The Washington Times. ``He kind of looked a little dumbfounded,'' a senior administration official has been quoted as saying. The Embassy of Pakistan has denied that there were any ``accusations'' during last week's meetings of Mr. Sattar here.

The Embassy has once again made the point that American sources are biased.

The United States has been after Osama bin Laden who is seen as the key person behind the Africa embassy bombings in 1998 that killed more than 220 persons including several Americans. Washington has been leaning very heavily on the Taliban which has thus far refused to expel Osama bin Laden or shut down his terrorist training camps in that country. The pressure on Pakistan is a result of Islamabad's links with the Taliban.

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