Afghan Troops Threaten Pakistan

Afghan Troops Threaten Pakistan

by Zahid Hussain
The London Times
September 18, 2001

The Taleban were reported yesterday to have moved missiles and thousands of troops to the border with Pakistan as tension rose during a last-minute attempt to persuade them to hand over Osama bin Laden.

A Pakistani officer near the Khyber Pass reported that the fundamentalist Afghan regime had deployed between 20,000 and 25,000 fighters just across the border from the Khyber Pass as Pakistani forces spread out along the 900-mile frontier.

Others, however, doubted the size of the Taleban deployment, which was said to have gathered about 20 miles from the border, believing that it numbered no more than 3,000. The Taleban have Scud missiles, but a report that these had been moved close to the border was unconfirmed. The Taleban troop movement was most visible near Torkhan in North West Frontier Province as the tension between the two nations mounted. Most of these Afghan posts were not manned until last week. The border at the Torkhan crossing was closed to everything but food; refugees were barred from coming through, Pakistani officials said.

"We are also forming our forces, but there has been no firing," Captain Abid Bahtti, a Pakistani officer at a checkpoint just two miles from the frontier, said. Asked whether the mood was warlike, he said: "Definitely, but it is not a declared war."

The heightened tension came as the fundamentalist Afghan regime closed its air-space and said that bin Laden's fate would be settled at a special meeting of clerics today. The meeting comes after the attempt by a high-level delegation from Pakistan to persuade the Taleban to hand over bin Laden.

Rashid Qureshi, a spokesman for President Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler, said that although the delegation had been expected to return yesterday "it seems they are going to extend their visit by another day".

However, the regime looks unlikely to reverse its long-standing decision to protect bin Laden. A Taleban spokesman, Abdul Hai Mutamaen, last night told the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press that while the talks had been mainly positive, the bin Laden issue had not been resolved.

Led by Lieutenant-General Mahmood Ahmed, head of the country's powerful Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), the delegation met Mullah Muhammad Omar and warned him that his refusal to surrender bin Laden would result in an imminent military assault.

Mullah Omar, who seldom meets foreigners, received General Mahmood in his new fortified house in southern Afghanistan, which has been built for him by bin Laden at the foot of a barren hill outside Kandahar. The city is also the spiritual headquarters of the Islamic movement.

The general, the second-most powerful man in Pakistan's military Government, has just returned from Washington after talking to George Tenet, the chief of the CIA, and other senior US officials.

Pakistan's decision to back the US coalition against terrorism has, however, created internal problems. Religious groups have called for demonstrations on Friday to oppose any attack on Afghanistan.

Mullah Omar has already threatened to declare holy war against the United States and any country that helps it.

The ISI, which has been closely linked to the Taleban movement from its emergence, played a crucial role in its spectacular battlefield victories against rival Afghan factions. General Mahmood has met the reclusive leader several times.

According to a senior Pakistani military official, the message to the Taleban leader was simple: hand bin Laden to the United States or be certain that you will be hit by a punishing retaliatory strike from the US-led international force. Although no deadline has been set, a senior military official said that the Taleban leaders were told that a strike could occur as early as the coming weekend.

Pakistani officials are said to have taken with them documentary evidence showing bin Laden's alleged involvement in the terror attacks in New York and Washington. There is no indication, however, that the hardline leader would yield to the pressure and show any flexibility. Mullah Omar has said that his "honourable guest" does not have the capacity to carry out the attacks and that he was innocent.

Pakistan also kept up the pressure on the wider diplomatic front. Moinuddin Haider, the Interior Minister, said: "The delegation is motivating and advising Mullah Omar and the Taleban leadership that they should consider the pros and cons of not co-operating with America and others on matters of terrorism, because if Afghanistan does not do the logical, balanced attitude in this regard it will be a problem for Afghanistan and its people."

Yesterday Taleban officials were reported to have begun to flee Kabul, heading for remoter regions to avoid the prospect of missile attacks.

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