ISLAMABAD, April 23: Afghanistan has begun submitting lists of wanted “terrorists” to Pakistan in a bid to crush the Taliban suspected of regrouping along the mountainous border, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday.
“In a meeting with Prime Minister Jamali, we spoke of some people, in general terms,” Mr Karzai told reporters, referring to his hour-long discussion with Mir Zafarullah Jamali on Tuesday.
“We are going to come up with a more specific list of names who will be considered criminals of war against the Afghan people. There are people who are definitely terrorists.”
He named Akhtar Mohammad Usmani, a deputy of Mulla Omar; Mulla Dadullah, the ousted militia’s intelligence chief; Mulla Biradar, the Taliban’s internal security chief, and Hafiz Mujeeb, a lower-ranking commander.
The Afghan president avoided saying where the wanted men were believed to be hiding, but warned that they would cause trouble for Pakistan.
“These people are criminals. Yesterday they were in Afghanistan. They created havoc. Today, if you allow them a place in Pakistan, they will probably cause the same trouble here.
“We want terrorists, whether in Afghanistan or in Pakistan, arrested and tried...it is not that only Afghanistan will get hurt. Pakistan will get hurt equally.”
Mr Karzai said the presence of terrorists around the mountainous border “and their occasional acts of terror inside Afghanistan,” were the biggest challenge facing his country.—AFP
