Taliban rejects U.S. request for Osama's extradition again

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, AUG. 3. The Taliban has once again rejected the request made by the U.S. for extradition of the fugitive Saudi billionaire, Osama bin Laden, currently hiding in Afghanistan, to a third country for trial on charges against him. The Taliban Ambassador in Pakistan, Mullah Abdus Salam Zaeef, told the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, Ms. Christina Rocca, at a meeting here on Thursday that while his country is prepared to take action against anyone if there is proof of involvement in terrorism, it would not expel its guests who had fought shoulder- to-shoulder with the Afghans against Soviet invaders.

In the course of their hour-long meeting, the Taliban Ambassador and the visiting U.S. dignitary discussed a number of issues of mutual concern, including the U.N. monitoring mechanism, sanctions and terrorism in the region.

This was the second high-level contact between the Taliban and the U.S. in recent months. The former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Mr. William B. Milam, had met his Taliban counterpart a few months to discuss these issues and convey the concerns of the U.S. on the policies of the Afghan Government. The meeting took place a day after the U.N. Security Council announced a monitoring mechanism to oversee the implementation of sanctions imposed on Afghanistan in January this year. Taliban has reacted sharply to the decision and said that it would treat the monitors as `enemies'.

The objective of Ms. Rocca's meeting with the Taliban Ambassador was to reiterate the concerns of U.S. on the policies of the Taliban Government. Ms. Rocca told correspondents after her meeting with the Taliban Ambassador that no significant change in U.S. policy towards the militia would be possible until their support for terrorists is stopped.

``I reiterated that the monitoring mechanism and the sanctions themselves would not be necessary if the Taliban simply complied with the resolutions by closing training camps and sending Osama bin Laden to a country, where he can be brought to justice,'' she said.

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Section  : International
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