Haqqani warns Pak.

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, OCT. 20. A senior Taliban Minister and Commander of the Taliban Army, Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani, said today that it was impossible for the U.S. ground troops to capture some of the major Taliban strongholds like Kandahar and warned Pakistan that it stood to lose the much-needed strategic depth provided by Afghanistan, if the Afghan militia lost power.

In an interview to the Pakistan daily, The News, the Taliban leader said, ``first of all, it is next to impossible for the Americans to capture the Afghan cities.

``Remember that the Soviet also controlled several of Afghan cities once. What happened to them? We never had a single city but look at us now''.

``Even if the Americans or others manage to (capture Afghan cities) and a new government is installed there, we will not accept it. We will retreat to the mountains and begin a long guerilla war to reclaim our pure land from infidels and free our country again'', he told the daily.

``We are eagerly awaiting the American troops to land on our soil, where we will deal with them in our own way.

``I tell you, the Soviets were a brave enemy and their soldiers could withstand tough conditions. The Americans are creatures of comfort. They will not be able to sustain the harsh conditions that await them,'' he told the paper.

Maulvi Haqqani also rejected the proposal to join a new broadbased government. ``The so-called broadbased national government will by its very nature be secular, which will never be acceptable to the Afghans.

``No one from the Taliban will be a part of such an unacceptable government, which will be filled with American, Russian and Indian stooges'', he said.

In another development, four foreigners, believed to be associates of Osama bin Laden, have been detained by Pakistan intelligence agencies when they tried to cross over to Pakistan from Afghanistan soon after the U.S. started air strikes in Afghanistan in October 7.

The Pakistan English daily, Dawn, quoting well-placed intelligence sources said that three Germans and one Australian who tried to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan were recently arrested at the border town of Chaman. It has not disclosed the religious identity of the arrested persons.

While one of the German nationals was extradited to Germany within 48 hours of his arrest, the ISI and American FBI agents were interrogating the rest, it said adding that they would also be shortly extradited to the U.S.

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Section  : International
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