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| Monday, June 19 , 2000 -- Rabi-ul-Awwal 15, 1421 A.H. | |
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Taliban close down three camps By Ismail Khan PESHAWAR: Afghanistan's ruling Taliban responding to increasing international pressure, have closed down three training camps and placed new restrictions on Arabs associated with Osama bin Laden, Afghan and Pakistani officials said. Pakistani officials said that Mullah Abdul Razzaq Akhund, Taliban's interior minister, ordered the immediate closure of the camps following his visit to Islamabad in mid-May. More than 1,300 activists of Harakatul Mujahideen and many Arabs were ordered to vacate the Rishkor military garrison, 25 km to the south of the Afghanistan capital Kabul. The garrison, which once housed the 7th division of the Afghan Army, served as the largest military training camp for radical Arabs and other groups. Two other camps including one at Kargha, about 8 km to the northwest of Kabul in Paghman, and a relatively smaller training facility run by Maulana Masood Azhar's Jaish-e-Muhammad were also ordered to close down. Like Rishkor, Kargha was a garrison for the 8th division of the Afghan army and was home to the rocket brigade. "We've verified now that all the three camps have been closed down," a senior Pakistani official said last week. "There is no training going on there right now. All the militants and the Arabs have left." A witness who visited Rishkor last week said that the complex situated in the foothills was deserted, except for a dozen or so Taliban guards blocking the main entrance. "It is empty," he said. Pakistani sources said that the Taliban had suffered immensely from international sanctions imposed on Afghanistan last November for its refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden. "They are worried. There are fears of further sanctions," the official said. Pressure was exerted through Pakistan which faces repeated calls from international community to use its influence over the Taliban to close down training camps for militants and radicals. The Musharraf government conveyed international concerns to the Taliban interior minister last month. Official sources said that most of the HUM militants have now been sent to the frontlines or have been dispersed to Afghanistan's central Bamiyan province or northern Kunduz. There are no immediate reports of relocation or opening of new camps. Put together, there are roughly 2,500 militants in Afghanistan, including the 600 to 700, fighting on the side of the Taliban, who are suspected of having links with Pakistan. There are another 100 or so who accompany the most-wanted Sepah-i-Sahaba activists, including Riaz Basra and Akram Lahori. The Pakistan government has asked the Taliban to extradite the militants wanted in cases of sectarian terrorism in Pakistan. The official said that the Taliban have given positive indication to locate the wanted militants and hand them over to Pakistan. "We've been given assurances and we are waiting for them to come true on their words." Officials say this showed Pakistan's limited influence over Taliban. "The West must understand, if we cannot facilitate the extradition of our wanted nationals from Afghanistan, there is nothing that we can do to urge them to hand over Osama bin Laden," said an official. In a related development, the Taliban have placed new restrictions on the Arab radicals associated with bin Laden. They have been ordered to vacate their houses in Wazir Akbar Khan and Shehr-Nau in Kabul and Laden's guest house, Rahim-i-Ghulama Baha situated in the city's Kart-i-Parwan area. The official admitted that the Taliban had been told in black and white to pay heed to international concerns. Pakistan had also arranged for Taliban representatives to meet US Under Secretary of State, Thomas Pickering in Islamabad last month. An Afghan source said the Taliban would like to see the international reaction to their action. "The Taliban's future strategy vis-a-vis these camps hinges largely on what kind of response they get from the world. It depends on whether they receive any encouraging response," the official said. Pakistan on its part has come down hard in recent months on militants and Arab veterans of the Afghan war. Two Jordanians have been extradited to Jordan in the last two weeks while six Arabs of African origin were picked up from an Afghan refugee camp near Peshawar and are being interrogated. Eight Arabs of different nationalities and scores of Pakistani militants have been arrested on the Pak-Afghan border, attempting to cross the frontier without valid travel documents. The News International, Pakistan Update | World | National | Karachi | Islamabad | Lahore | Business |
