Musharraf: Taliban's days are numbered

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, OCT. 1. The first signs of an imminent attack on Afghanistan were visible today when the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, told an international television channel that the days of the Taliban militia appeared "numbered."

In response to a question by the BBC if the Taliban's days are numbered, he said, "It appears so." In another interview to the CNN on Sunday, the President said that he saw the "danger of damage" coming to the Taliban as it continued to defy world opinion for the hand-over of Osama bin Laden, prime suspect behind the September 11 attacks on the American cities.

``It appears that the United States will take action in Afghanistan, and we have conveyed this to the Taliban,'' Gen. Musharraf told the BBC. He was at pains to emphasise that Pakistan had done its best to avoid a confrontation.

Gen. Musharraf had sent two missions - an official one, led by the ISI chief, and the second, consisting of ulema (Muslim leaders) accompanied by the ISI chief - in a bid to persuade the Taliban supremo, Mullah Mohammad Omar, to heed the advice of the international community and agree to hand over Osama. But both the missions failed in their objective.

That there is no hope of any reconciliation between the Taliban and the U.S. was evident from a hard-hitting statement of Mullah Omar daring the Americans to launch an attack on Afghanistan. He once again denied the involvement of Osama or any of his associates hiding in Afghanistan in the September 11 terror strikes and accused the U.S. of unjustly targeting him.

Mullah Omar denied any role in the terrorist attacks and blamed them on U.S. policies. In an interview with the Taliban-run Kabul Radio, he repeatedly warned the U.S. to ``think and think again'' about attacking Afghanistan. ``Americans don't have the courage to come here,'' he said.

The Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman, Mr. Riaz Mohammad Khan, echoed the sentiments of Gen. Musharraf on the slim chances of reconciliation, but at the same time maintained that Pakistan would continue to engage the Taliban.

He categorically ruled out the possibility of Pakistan snapping ties with Afghanistan and said such a step would spell doom for the people of the country. The landlocked country was entirely dependent on Pakistan for its food supplies and other essential needs.

In Kabul, the first World Food Programme convoy since the start of the crisis arrived on Monday. Eight trucks carrying 218 tonnes of wheat made it through to the city, the WFP spokesman, Mr. Khalid Mansour, said. A U.N. humanitarian aid delivery of 40 tonnes of food and other supplies for Afghan children also arrived in Turkmenistan.

Reports said fighting continued in the north of Afghanistan, with one district said to have been captured by the opposition alliance on Sunday apparently changing hands again. Taliban officials quoted by AIP said their fighters had retaken the district of Qadis in northeastern Bagdis province.

Pact to oust Taliban

A Reuters report from Rome said the ex-King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan had reached an agreement with the opposition Northern Alliance aimed at ousting the Taliban rulers in Kabul, the two sides said today.

Under the terms of the accord, the anti-Taliban coalition called for the convening of a traditional grand council of Afghan leaders.

This council would then convene a so-called Loya Jirga, made up of representatives of all of Afghanistan's ethnic and tribal groupings. It was not immediately clear when or where the Loya Jirga would take place or whether it was dependent on the Taliban being ousted from power.

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