A group of Islamic clerics in Afghanistan will decide tomorrow whether to surrender Osama bin Laden or face all out attack from the US and its allies.
There was hope Pakistan could use its clout with the Taliban - forged over eight years of close military, economic and diplomatic ties - to persuade them to reverse their decision, stated repeatedly in the days since the terror attacks, never to hand over bin Laden.
That hope received a tenuous boost by Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar's announcement, read tonight over the Taliban-run Radio Shariat, that the Islamic council, or ulema, would decide the issue.
Omar's statement said that the Pakistani delegation insisted "we should try to prevent a US attack." However, it gave no indication whether Omar will be making any recommendation to the council of clerics.
The announcement came after a day of meetings with a Pakistani delegation , which included the head of the country's secret service.
The Pakistanis went to southern Kandahar to press the Taliban to hand over bin Laden to try to pre-empt a US retaliatory attack.
Renegade Saudi millionaire bin Laden is the prime suspect for the horrific terrorist attacks in New York and Washington last week.
The Pakistani delegation was led by Lieutenant General Mahmood Ahmed, chief of the Interservices Intelligence, the Pakistani agency believed to have played a part in the Taliban's creation in the mid-1990s.
After pressing the Taliban to surrender bin Laden, the Pakistan delegation travelled to the Afghan capital Kabul where they are expected to meet the grand council of clerics, apparently to try to influence their decision.
According to the Radio Shariat broadcast which read Omar's statement the gathering will involve 20 of the country's pre-eminent clerics. They will be given the job of making the decision.
The Pakistani delegation's message was straightforward: "Hand over bin Laden to the United States or be certain to be hit by a punishing retaliatory strike from a US led international coalition".
There was no guarantee the Taliban would be spared an attack if they do deliver bin Laden, but they were being told that an attack is certain if they do not.
Until now the Taliban have refused to hand over bin Laden, calling him a "guest," and saying it was impossible for him to carry out the deadly terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Although the Americans would also want the Taliban to hand over all of bin Laden's aides and destroy his facilities, that was not a focus of today's talks, a senior Pakistani official said.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States would make its own overture to Taliban officials in the next few days to expel bin Laden's network.
There was no indication of a deadline being given to the Taliban, but a Pakistan military official said the Taliban were being told that a strike could occur as early as this weekend. The Taliban, meanwhile, shut down Afghanistan's air space and sent troops to its 1,500 mile long border with Pakistan.
It was reported that they had moved a large arsenal of weapons, including Russian Scud missiles, to positions near the border with Pakistan.
It was also reported that Taliban officials have began fleeing Kabul amid growing expectations the United States was preparing a punishing attack.
Pakistan virtually shut down the border today, beefing up troops and sending more police to enforce an order confining 1.2 million Afghan refugees to the dozens of camps in its Northwest Frontier province.
Nothing except food was getting across the border, said Mr Farooq Shah, an official at the border town of Torkham. Pakistan is also not letting in any new refugees.
China, in turn, sealed its own border with Pakistan, for fear that terrorists there might seek refuge in China.
Pakistan's decision to close its border with Afghanistan was one of several requests made by the United States. Other requests include use of Pakistan's air space and soil and the exchange of intelligence material.
Most of Pakistan's 140 million people are devout but relatively moderate Muslims, but there are several strong militant Islamic groups operating in the country and thousands of religious schools that turn out young boys dedicated to holy war. Most of these militant groups are well armed and could pose a threat to the rule of President General Pervez Musharraf.
Foreign Minister Mr Abdul Sattar said support for US action would not include Pakistani participation in a multinational force should Afghanistan be invaded.
Bin Laden is already indicted in the United States on charges of masterminding two US embassies in Africa in 1998, has been living in Afghanistan since 1996.
The Taliban's refusal to hand him over provoked two rounds of UN sanctions that have cut off funds to its national airline and isolated its leaders.
Pakistan is one of only three countries to recognise Taliban rule. Its close ties to the Taliban have earned Pakistan a measure of security on its western border, but have also strained relations with the United States, which had been a staunch ally of Pakistan's during the Cold War.
All foreign aid workers have left Afghanistan except for the eight who are jailed on charges of preaching Christianity.
AP