October 13, 2001	Saturday	Rajab 25, 1422

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 12: The Foreign Office said on Friday that no action against Afghanistan was being initiated from Pakistan soil, but added that some airstrips could be offered to the US forces for “meeting any contingency situation”.

“No combat troops are stationed in Pakistan,” said FO spokesman Riaz Mohammad Khan.

Allied fighters and bombers, the spokesman said, were operating from US and British ships stationed in Persian Gulf. “No US troops are poised to take action from Pakistan,” he said, refuting reports that some US troops had come to some military bases in Sindh and Balochistan.

As regards allied operations against the Taliban, he said: “This phenomenon could be quite protracted.”

The spokesman denied reports that Pakistan was acting as an interlocutor or intermediary between the United States and the Taliban.

“However,” he said, “there is a point of contact in the shape of their embassy in Islamabad.”

Asked whether any timeframe had been indicated by Washington about the logistic support it required from Pakistan, he said they had no idea how long they would continue their attacks as no operational plans had been shared with Pakistan.

In reply to a question whether Pakistan would condemn the loss of innocent Afghan lives in the US attacks, the spokesman said that they felt “deep sorrow and grief” over the loss of lives of innocent citizens, but Pakistan had done its best to caution and warn the Taliban about that.

He differentiated between the Sept 11 attacks in the United States and those being carried out by the allied forces in Afghanistan by saying that the former were targeted against the innocent people while the prime objective of the later were to punish the terrorists and those harbouring terrorists.

Pakistan, he said, had always condemned those acts which were targeted against the innocent citizens. On the basis of the same principle, he said, Pakistan had been condemning the killing of innocent Palestinians at the hand of Israeli army.

Not only the United States but the whole international community had been demanding of the Taliban regime to hand over terrorists, he said, adding “no country can live in isolation.”

He said they had asked the Taliban government to take decision in the interest of the Afghan people.

In reply to another question, he said the special representative of the UN secretary-general, Fransce Vendrell, was already here and was in constant touch with Pakistan, Taliban and Afghan groups to promote UN efforts to bring about a broad-based government in Kabul, a government that could ensure stability and peace in Afghanistan.

About the opening of border, he said Pakistan had great feelings of sympathy for Afghans who were facing hardships and wanted to get into Pakistan. There were already more than three million refugees in Pakistan and it was extremely difficult to take care of more people because of the already over-stretched capacity. Pakistan, he said, had been calling upon the international community to assist the internally displaced Afghans within their country.

He pointed out that the allied operations were not indiscriminate and not all parts of Afghanistan were being targeted. Afghans, he added, could be helped inside their country.

About demonstrations across Pakistan on Friday, he said there had been normalcy in the country. Protests remained peaceful in Peshawar and Lahore while some limited incidents like burning of tyres and damage to a couple of buildings were reported in Karachi, he added.