Is a compromise with the US on Osama bin Laden possible?
All our offers to peacefully resolve the issue have been turned down by the US. We held talks with US officials and said we could try Bin Laden in Afghanistan if there was enough evidence against him. We proposed that a joint committee of religious scholars from Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and another Muslim country be empowered to decide his fate in the light of Islamic teachings. However, the US is using force against Afghanistan, as they did in August '97 by firing missiles into our territory. Now economic sanctions have been imposed against a poor and war-ravaged country. They are forcing us to close the Bin Laden chapter.
Will the UN sanctions change your policy on Bin Laden?
The US-inspired economic sanctions prove the UN has become a vehicle for implementation of the US global agenda. It's for the member-countries to consider why the US is being allowed to use the UN for punishing weaker nations which refuse to take orders from Washington. The Islamic countries in particular should come to the help of their Afghan brethren and minimise their sufferings. The Afghans have suffered a lot due to 20 years of war imposed by the Soviet Union and now the punitive sanctions dictated by the US would further contribute to their woes. Let me make it clear that we will not strike a deal on an issue which concerns our Islamic duty. Handing over a Muslim like Bin Laden, who fought in the Afghan jehad and has taken refuge with us, to his enemies isn't possible. We've already taken steps to stop him from using Afghanistan's soil to implement his political agenda by monitoring his visitors and taking away his satellite phone. For us he's innocent unless proven guilty in independent and unbiased courts. Everyone should know that Afghans can't be forced to accept unwanted decisions.
Why did you reject Bin Laden's recent offer to leave Afghanistan?
Bin Laden wrote to me offering to leave Afghanistan provided the Taliban assisted in his departure and his destination wasn't disclosed. I wrote back asking whether he'd made this decision due to doubts about Taliban's intentions and whether he feared that the Taliban would strike a deal with the US over his head. I said that he shouldn't harbour such doubts. I also said that if his offer was voluntary then he could go wherever he wanted. Moreover, I said that the Taliban weren't responsible for finding a new destination for him. Here I must point out that even this offer by Bin Laden wasn't acceptable to the US as it wants to capture him and put him on trial in the US.
Is there a link between the recent rocket attacks on US and UN installations in Islamabad and the sanctions against Afghanistan?
I believe the attacks were part of a plot to poison the friendly relations that exist between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It was also an attempt to put Afghanistan on the path of confrontation with the US and the UN. The Taliban and Afghanistan are opposed to all kinds of terrorism. It is something un-Islamic and is counter-productive. We ourselves are a victim of terrorism and only recently there was a huge bomb explosion outside my home in Kandahar. Those who sponsored the attacks on the US/UN buildings certainly wanted to establish a link between these attacks and the economic sanctions. But there is no evidence yet and I have urged the Pakistan government, the US and the UN to investigate the matter so that the real culprits are exposed and punished. As for the sanctions, we can only pray to Allah to help us and bring His wrath to bear on those who want to punish us.
