WASHINGTON, June 20: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia rejected on Sunday the assertion that their support to the Taliban regime enabled Al Qaeda to launch terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.
"We have not enabled the terrorists to attack the United States, it is a completely wrong assertion," said Mohammed Sadiq, Pakistan's deputy chief of mission in Washington.
Saudi foreign policy adviser Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Washington that a bipartisan commission investigating the 9-11 attacks had vindicated Saudi Arabia by determining that neither its government nor senior officials financed Al Qaeda.
"We are very pleased, because it vindicates what we have been saying all along. It is unfortunate that Congress had to spend millions of dollars in order to pursue outrageous charges," he said.
The Pakistani diplomat also said that no Pakistani government had ever supported Al Qaeda but acknowledged that Pakistan did recognize the Taliban regime. Explaining Pakistan's position on this issue, Mr Sadiq said: "We have always supported whichever government controlled Kabul."
"With a long and porous border with Afghanistan, we cannot afford to ignore the authority that runs Kabul," he said, adding that Pakistan maintained an embassy in the Afghan capital even during the Soviet occupation.
"With common border, ethnic affiliations and economic inter- dependence, we cannot afford to ignore the government in Afghanistan," he said. The Saudi foreign policy adviser, however, sought vindication for the Saudi position in the 9-11 commission's report.
"Here we have an independent commission saying categorically there was no Saudi government involvement or involvement by Saudi princes or Saudi government officials in the financing of Al Qaeda or the 9-11 hijackers," Mr Jubeir said.
