Uzbekistan's president accused Pakistan Thursday of sheltering ethnic Uzbek members of al-Qaida who fled Afghanistan last month after battling U.S. troops. "The Pakistani authorities have done nothing to detain bandits from Uzbekistan who were trained in Afghanistan and took part in the al-Qaida terrorist network," Uzbek President Islam Karimov said. About 2,000 Uzbek Islamic militants were believed to be in Afghanistan at one point last year, but Karimov specifically mentioned 34-year-old Tahir Yuldash, the political leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Yuldash has been wanted in Uzbekistan since December 1991. Karimov said Yuldash fled Afghanistan's Paktia province after U.S. troops launched the Operation Anaconda offensive against al-Qaida in early March. "Now he only can be in Pakistan," Karimov said. "Uzbekistan has an extradition agreement with Pakistan, but we haven't seen its practical implementation." There was no comment from Pakistan, but police there arrested another 21 people during raids against al-Qaida hide-outs in northern areas, officials said Thursday. An eight-day operation has netted more than 100 suspected al-Qaida members, among them a top deputy of Osama bin Laden.
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