December 7, 2001	Friday	Ramazan 21, 1422

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 6: The very first decision taken by the head of the newly-appointed Afghan interim government, Hamid Karzai, to grant general amnesty has been vetoed by the US-led coalition.

Coalition spokesman Kenton Keith at the daily briefing here on Thursday ruled out the possibility of granting amnesty for Mulla Omar and other top leaders of the Taliban.

Mr Keith, who had earlier characterized Taliban as those involved in domestic terrorism and Al-Qaeda members as those guilty of international terrorism, said senior Taliban leaders were “inextricably bound with Al-Qaeda network.”

“There are those among the Taliban leaders who definitely have blood on their hands and it is expected that they would be brought to justice,” Mr Keith said.

On the issue of amnesty announced by Mr Karzai within hours of his nomination as the interim prime minister, Mr Keith said that the agreement reached at Bonn did not contain any such reference.

“We have seen the statement of Mr Karzai,” he said, adding that they had taken note of the Bonn agreement, which clearly stated that international terrorists would be pursued by the transitional authority.

“We do not see anything to change that,” he said. “We are happy that the agreement reached at Bonn specifically contains this reference.”

On the negotiations going on between Mr Karzai and Mulla Omar in Kandahar, he said they had independent reports that it had reached a decisive phase.

“We would welcome any agreement that would spare bloodshed in Kandahar,” he remarked. He did not give any details about the agreement, saying that it would be speculative to predict what would be the terms of the agreement.

However, he noted that Mr Karzai was a signatory of the Bonn agreement that international terrorists would be pursued and brought to justice. This principle would be embodied in every negotiations, he added.

Mr Keith said they were expecting good news but till Thursday afternoon the negotiations were going on and city had not been handed over.

On the reports that Gen Dostum and some other leaders had raised objections to the constitution of the interim government, he said nobody ever pretended that the setting up of the interim government would be a smooth process.

When asked to comment on a report that a son of Osama bin Laden had been killed, he said they had no such information.

Mr Keith said that ordinary Taliban soldiers had been disillusioned with Osama and Mulla Omar. “Soldiers have deserted in droves, angry at these two leaders for bringing devastation to Afghanistan while others pay the price,” he added.

He said not just the ordinary fighters but some most senior commanders of Mulla Omar were also negotiating their surrender.

Mr Keith stressed that the reports that Mulla Omar himself was negotiating should be taken seriously. “If he is prepared privately to bargain for himself, there is no possible justification for sending others to their deaths or using civilians as human shields in a war which by his own private actions he admits he cannot win,” he added.