November 5, 2001	Monday	haba’an 18, 1422

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

ISLAMABAD, Nov 4: US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld gave no indication of any let-up in bombing of Afghanistan during Ramazan as desired by President Gen Pervez Musharraf.

“It is important to stop the terrorists,” Mr Rumsfeld said here on Sunday, adding there were some “real and credible threats” of additional acts of terrorism.

The defence secretary was speaking at a joint press briefing with Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar after his talks with Gen Musharraf and top commanders.

“The US is sensitive to the views in the region,” he said in reply to a question about a general view repeatedly aired by President Musharraf that the bombing during Ramazan would aggravate sentiments across the Muslim world.

The US, he said, would like to end the bombing as quickly as possible but it was linked to the underlying objectives.

Mr Rumsfeld said that four weeks of bombing had greatly weakened the Taliban’s ability to function as a government. The Taliban authority had been restricted to enclaves, and the militia was not making any more military moves, he said.

The defence secretary alleged that the Taliban had been lying about civilian causalities; they were using mosques as military command centres and for storing ammunition, and placing tanks near hospitals and schools.

Mr Rumsfeld, who arrived here abroad a C-17 military cargo plane from Uzbekistan flying over Afghanistan, left for New Delhi in the evening on the last leg of his tour to the region.

The US President, he said, was determined to root out the Al Qaeda network and “he will see it through.”

Referring to his discussions with President Musharraf and his team, Mr Rumsfeld said he had wide-ranging talks with them. The United States, he added, “values its relations with Pakistan and recognizes and appreciates its support for the fight against terrorism.”

Mr Sattar said they had also apprised the defence secretary about their concern on the Kashmir issue. “The President also apprised the US secretary about stringent measures that have been taken by Pakistan to ensure custodial security of our strategic assets,” Mr Sattar said.

Mr Sattar said the US had agreed on the establishment of a broad- based, multi-ethnic government in Afghanistan. “My perception is that the US too seeks to support the process of establishing a broad-based, multi-ethnic government in Afghanistan,” he said.

Mr Rumsfeld said they had agreed on the formation of a broad-based government, the one which would implement the UN resolutions and would not harbour terrorism.

During talks, President Musharraf was assisted by the chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Gen Aziz Khan, Naval Chief Admiral Abdul Aziz Mirza, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir, Vice Chief of Army Staff Gen Muhammad Yousaf, Chief of General Staff Lt-Gen Shahid Aziz and others.