October 18, 2001	Thursday	Rajab 30, 1422

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ISLAMABAD Oct 17: Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Afghan ambassador in Islamabad, has appealed to the people of Pakistan to urgently send relief goods including food and drugs for the people of Afghanistan, in wake of the US air raids on the country.

The Afghan envoy, it is recalled left here for Afghanistan on Thursday last with reported mission to negotiate with the Taliban chief Mullah Omar on Taliban regime’s bail out chance as announced by President Bush to turn over Osama Bin Laden for stoppage of air raids.

Sohail Shaheen, acting Afghan ambassador, talking to this scribe on Wednesday said that Mullah Zaeef had asked him by telephone to appeal to the world community especially Pakistan to save hundreds of thousands of people of Afghanistan from starvation and sure death due to shortage of life saving drugs by rushing their supplies at the earliest.

When asked if Mullah Zaeef had been able to hold a meeting with Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar so far which was the purpose of his visit, the Afghan diplomat said “I was not informed”.

He rejected reports of any secret visit to Islamabad by Afghan foreign minister Wakil Ahmed Mutawakil and holding talks with Pakistani foreign office on any deal for a broad-based government.

“There was no truth in all these reports as Mutawakil is still inside Afghanistan and has not visited Pakistan so far”, said Sohail Shaheen.

He said, there were reports of food shortages especially in the remote areas and areas close to the US planes bombing theatre.

He claimed that some 20 deaths were confirmed in fresh air strikes and 20 others had been injured in last 24 hours.

Replying to a question about the reports of imminent fall of Mazar-i-Sharif, Shaheen said, no clashes between Taliban and the northern alliance forces were reported in and around Mazar and hence there was no question of such an eventuality.