Mullah Omar to abandon Kandahar

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, NOV. 16. The Taliban militia is believed to have taken a decision to retreat from Kandahar and the top leadership of the regime, including Mullah Mohammad Omar, would head for the mountains, the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) news agency said tonight.

However there was no independent confirmation of the report. No functionary of the Taliban embassy here was willing to comment on it. The Taliban Deputy Ambassador, Mr. Suhail Shaheen, was not available for comment and the Ambassador, Mullah Abdul Saleem Zaeef, is away in Afghanistan for consultation with the Taliban leadership.

Quoting sources, AIP said Mullah Mohammad Omar had decided to hand over the city to two former mujahideen commanders after several days of discussions with his military commanders and close aides.

The agency said the Taliban were expected to leave the city within the next 24 hours. It said the decision was taken to avoid more civilian casualties from daily U.S. bombing.

It is difficult to comment on the veracity of the report, particularly considering the manner in which the militia chose to retreat from several of the key provinces in the last few days. Political observers and commentators here are left guessing whether it is part of any considered strategy or a simple case of outright defeat in the war against the U.S. and its allies.

`Osama has fled to Pak.'

The Iran Radio has claimed that the Saudi dissident, Osama bin Laden, has probably fled from Afghanistan to Pakistan. However, authorities in Pakistan promptly denied it as a `baseless' report and asserted that the security on the Afghan border had been stepped up to ensure that illegal persons did not cross the border.

``Osama bin Laden has most likely abandoned Afghanistan for the Manatiq-e-Azad (free areas) of Pakistan to save his life,'' the Iran Radio, quoting an informed source said. Maj. Gen. Rashid Quereshi, Press Secretary to the Pakistan President, told reporters at a Foreign Office briefing that the vigil along the 2500-km border with Afghanistan had been stepped up.

He denied reports that tanks had been moved to the border. Maj. Gen. Quereshi said that there had been additional deployment of border security guards and scouts to maintain strict vigil on the border.

He said that along with paramilitary troops, a few Pakistan soldiers had been sent to the border. He did not agree with the suggestion of a correspondent that the people in the tribal areas of Pakistan were sympathetic to the Taliban. ``The President of Pakistan, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has met with each and every tribal leader in the country. Let me assert that not even a single leader has come out in support of the Taliban. They have appreciated the decision taken by the government to join the international community in combating terrorism''.

AP, AFP, PTI report:

Meanwhile reports from Kabul said U.S. warplanes struck positions near Kandahar in the south and Kunduz in the north today, the first day of Ramadan.

Kandahar was bombed, continuing a pattern of relentless strikes on the city and its surroundings. AIP said the Taliban's Foreign Ministry was wrecked, along with a mosque located in the eastern part of the city.

It claimed at least 11 civilians were killed, but that could not be independently confirmed.

The attacks came despite earlier calls from some Muslim nations - including key ally Pakistan - for restraint during the Islamic holy month.

But Pakistan implicitly defended the airstrikes, noting they were much less intense than in recent days and weeks.

``The bombing has been reduced,'' said the Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mr. Aziz Ahmed Khan, adding that U.S.-led military operations would continue until the goal was achieved.

Pak. denial

Pakistan has denied reports that some of the bombs dropped by U.S. fighter planes strayed into its territory in areas bordering Afghanistan.

The Foreign Office spokesman, Mr. Aziz Mohammad Khan, told reporters in Islamabad that some bombs fell close to the border inside Afghanistan and not in Pakistani territory.

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