Fears of an American attack on Afghanistan heightened last night with the refusal of the Taliban leadership to hand over the terrorist suspect, Osama bin Laden, to the United States.
Senior Pakistani officials failed in three hours of talks in Afghanistan to convince the Taliban's reclusive leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, to turn over the multi-millionaire Islamic militant, who is accused of involvement in last Tuesday's terror attacks on the US in which over 5,000 people died.
The Pakistan based Afghan/Islamic press last night quoted a Taliban spokesman as saying at the intensive talks, believed to have taken place in the southern city of Kandahar and to have involved the Taliban's foreign minister, both sides failed to resolve the issue of giving up bin Laden, whom President Bush said yesterday he wanted "dead or alive". After their meeting, the Pakistani team flew to the capital Kabul, deciding to extend its visit by another day in a bid to convince the Taliban of the danger they face. They arrived at the Pakistani embassy, manned by a skeleton staff of perhaps the only foreigners left in the capital, and then left for meetings, Pakistani officials said.
"We earlier thought the delegation would return today but now it seems they are going to extend their visit by another day," said Mr Rashid Qureshi, spokesman for President Pervez Musharraf.
News of the failure of the talks came as tension increased across Pakistan with the possibility of an attack by America drawing near. Pakistan yesterday tightened its borders to prevent an influx of fleeing Afghan refugees from entering the country. Already, 20,000 refugees are said to be trying to get across to Pakistan at the main border town of Torkham in the northwest of the country. The Pakistan authorities also ordered a curtailment on the movement of the 1.2 million Afghan refugees, already encamped in the country.
Both Taliban and Pakistan military have increased their presence along their 1,400 km border, with reports that the Taliban have set up anti-aircraft weaponry.
Taliban officials are said to have begun leaving Kabul, amid growing expectations of US attacks. Pakistan has stopped all trade with its neighbour, except for food. The US has vowed to punish the perpetrators of the attack and all those who protect them. But the Taliban leader has threatened to declare jihad, or holy war, against the US if it attacks.
After yesterday's meeting the Pakistan foreign minister warned that time was running out for Afghanistanto avoid retribution.
He said Pakistan had not been informed of any timetable for US action against bin Laden or the Taliban; but was not expecting one until Washington concluded a full investigation. "We have seen no evidence yet and we are not asking for any. There is an environment of trust and confidence between us," Mr Sattar said.
Meanwhile, pro-Taliban groups in Pakistan have called for demonstrations across the country. The leader of the country's largest Islamic political party said the American attacks are a conspiracy and "we should not fall into this trap".
The meeting voted for a strike in Pakistan on September 21st to protest against widely expected US retaliation.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned deadly attacks in the US but said punishing Afghanistan might cause a human catastrophe and could trigger more problems for America.
