KANDAHAR – Afghanistan’s Taleban authorities say Islamic clerics in Kabul will make a decision Tuesday to either turn over suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden or face possible U.S. military attack.
The U.S. warning was relayed to the Taleban’s leadership Monday by a delegation of high-ranking Pakistani military officers. They met for three hours with Taleban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.
The Afghan Islamic Press quotes a Taleban spokesman as saying the two sides “exchanged views” on the situation emerging from last Tuesday’s terrorist attacks on U.S. cities. He said the discussions were positive, but refused to elaborate.
The Pakistani government delegation later flew to Kabul, the capital, for more meetings with Taleban officials Tuesday.
The Saudi exile who has been sheltered in Afghanistan in recent years is the main suspect in last week’s terror attacks in the United States, despite his repeated denials.
Pakistan’s government has already pledged to provide the United States with support in the war against terrorism, but it has not elaborated on exactly what that means.
Pakistan has had close ties to Afghanistan’s Taleban government and it faces mounting protests from Pakistani Islamic groups to stop helping the U.S. government.
Meanwhile, the United States is expected to send a diplomatic team to Pakistan in the next few days to discuss details of cooperation, which could include the use of Pakistani airspace to reach neighboring Afghanistan. Pakistan has closed most of its border with Afghanistan.
