Afghanistan has not changed its stance on Osama Bin Laden and the chase is still on to find the world's most wanted terrorist, President Hamid Karzai has assured. Karzai, speaking on the ATV Khyber news channel, said neither the stance of his government to hunt down Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden has changed nor has the hot pursuit against him ended. "I don't know where he is, but Osama is the enemy of Afghans, he killed our kids, deprived them from schools, tortured and humiliated our women and burnt our orchards. I am after him and will find and punish him one day," Karzai said.The Afghan president admitted that whereabouts of the most wanted man in the world were not known, but reiterated his resolve to continue the hunt and take him to task for the crimes he has committed. Karzai had a one-on-one meeting with President General Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad on Tuesday and both the leaders have vowed to fight a joint war on terror and bring the criminals to justice. "Wherever Osama is hiding, I will go after him," vowed Karzai.
President Musharraf in a statement on March 16 said it was a close call for Osama Bin Laden but Pakistani forces hunting down the Al Qaeda leader lost track of him after coming close to discovering his whereabouts several months ago. Musharraf said intelligence agencies had indications eight to ten months ago about the whereabouts of Bin Laden but then the trail went cold.
Regarding the reconciliation with Taleban and other elements opposed to Afghan government and the presence of US forces in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai said that progress has been made in contacting Taliban leaders and the results would be made public in the near future. "On my request, the spiritual father of the Afghan nation, ex-king Zahir Shah is in contact with the Taliban and others to bring them to the mainstream," Karzai told the interviewer.
| We might be looking for help in the wrong place. If Binny ever is tracked down and arrested or killed, likely it won't be the Paks who do it. He's got too much overt support among the turbans. The Afghans, on the other hand, seem to be gaining in both self-confidence and organization. The thought of an effective Afghan army, backed by an effective Afghan government, must be a nightmare for the terror bigs. |