Taliban a threat to region: Masood

BRUSSELS, APRIL 7. The Belgian Foreign Minister, Mr. Louis Michel, pledged today to send more humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and put pressure on Pakistan to stop supporting the country's radical Taliban ruling movement.

``Pakistan has to be shown that some of its views are wrong,'' Mr. Michel told a news conference after talks with Mr. Ahmad Shah Masood, commander of the armed resistance to the ruling Taliban.

Mr. Masood accused Pakistan of giving military aid to the Taliban during a news conference in Paris on Wednesday. Islamabad has rejected the allegation.

Masood, who has spent the past week meeting European leaders to garner support for his fight against the Taliban, reiterated his warning that Afghanistan was only a point of departure for the Taliban. ``If we don't stop this group, not only will the people of Afghanistan suffer, but also the entire region,'' he said.

Mr. Masood, whose visit to Europe has angered the Taliban, renewed his call for a ceasefire and the start of peace talks. He reiterated his vow to bring democracy to Afghanistan, grant women the right to vote, respect human rights, and fight drug trafficking.

The Taliban have drawn international condemnation for their destruction of ancient Buddhist statues and for other policies such as banning women from most areas of public life.

Mr. Michel said he would start a dialogue with Pakistan to try to get it to stop giving military support to the Taliban and said Belgium would send aid for health, education, agriculture, and women's rights.

A foreign ministry spokesman said Belgium, which already gives Afghanistan aid through international organisations such as the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, would decide on the size and timing of the aid in coming weeks.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, is preparing 13 million euros ($11.71 million) in new aid for the country ravaged by war and drought.

Dostum returns

A report from Kabul said General Abdur Rashid Dostum, a top anti- Taliban warlord, returned to Afghanistan on Friday after more than two-and-a-half years of exile and called for an end to fighting.

``I am going to announce my position regarding the situation of Afghanistan within a couple of days,'' Mr. Dostum told Reuters by phone from Badakhshan, the political heartland of the opposition forces.

- Reuters

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Plane Collision: U.S., China plan joint probe
Next     : Russians rally for press freedom