January 18, 2002	Friday	Ziqa'ad 3, 1422

KABUL, Jan 17: Security issues, including fears Taliban militia members may be regrouping under a different name in Pakistan’s border areas, were on the agenda of US-Afghan talks here on Thursday, an official said.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell and his Afghan counterpart Abdullah Abdullah held private talks for about 40 minutes after Powell had earlier met Afghan interim administration head Hamid Karzai, the official said.

“They discussed the real threat that the Taliban and Al Qaeda still pose within Afghanistan,” Abdullah’s spokesman Omar Samad said.

“They also expressed concern that in the border areas of Pakistan the Taliban are regrouping under a different name, which could pose a threat to the stability of Afghanistan.”

Both Powell and Abdullah, however, were confident that President Pervez Musharraf would not allow this to happen.

“They believe Pakistan won’t make the same mistake again,” Samad said.

Abdullah had told Powell that the interim power-sharing administration had no objection to the bombing campaign, in conjunction with operations of Afghan ground forces, continuing “until the terrorist threat is over”.

However, the Afghan foreign minister expressed concern about the number of civilian casualties from the bombings, which are continuing in the east of the country.

Samad said Abdullah had described Powell’s visit as a “reflection of the success that we have witnessed over the past four months in the fight against terrorism.

“This was a partnership between the international community and anti-Taliban forces within Afghanistan. We can all share in the success of the operation.”

Powell had committed the US to “the long haul” with Afghanistan and to continuing operations against Al Qaeda and the Taliban “to the end”.

Samad said Powell and Abdullah had also discussed regional issues, including relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Iran, Russia and the Central Asian republics.

Other issues touched on were reconstruction needs ahead of the Tokyo conference on Monday and Tuesday, and Afghanistan’s financial crisis.

After meeting Abdullah, Powell held joint talks with Interior Minister Yunus Qanooni and Defence Minister Mohammad Qasim Fahim. —AFP