ISLAMABAD, Nov 7: Afghan ambassador in Islamabad Abdus Salam Zaeef on Wednesday said, rule under which he has been banned for holding press conferences should also be applied to the United States which is churning out malicious propaganda against Taliban.

“Why the United States is an exception?” Mullah Zaeef wondered at a dinner which he hosted for editors of leading national dailies where he also showed a copy of newsletter issued by the US consulate in Peshawar.

The US consulate has been using “indecent” and highly objectionable language, he said adding that he had never used such language against the US.

Mr Zaeef said that they had been appraising alternate means including a proposal to allow more Pakistani as well as international journalists to Jalalabad or some other place inside Afghanistan on permanent basis to keep world posted with the plight of victims of the US aggression.

He said Pakistan Foreign Office had told him not to hold any press conference any more.

Mr Zaeef who appeared a bit gloomy but calm said that they had been passing through very difficult times of their history.

The Afghan ambassador confirmed reports about the presence of the United States, Russian, Turkish and Indian troops in the areas controlled by Northern Alliance.

He said some serving officials of the Indian army of the rank of general and brigadier were guiding commanders of Northern Alliance and on their advice Northern Alliance had opened war on many fronts.

However the Northern Alliance have not been able to make any advance on any front, he said.

He claimed that two commanders of the Northern Alliance, Mohammad Hanif and Mamoor Afghan had defected and joined Talibans with their soldiers in the past few days. Whereas the Taliban soldiers were sticking to their ground and no defection had taken place in their ranks, he added.

Giving his impression of the United States incessant bombing for the last one month, he said, it had not been as severe as they had been expecting before the war.

The propaganda of the United States military might had been exposed to them, he said adding that the fear that American forces would annihilate everything in only few days turned out to be a farce.

The American forces, he said, had tried every bomb in their arsenal except for nuclear weapons but they had failed to achieve anything.

Mr Zaeef said despite target and carpet bombing casualties from military point of view were not very high.

He expressed gratitude for all the Muslims around the world who had been supporting them. He also thanked people of Pakistan for extending humanitarian assistance to the refugees.

On a question as to what was their assessment that how long this war would continue, Mr Zaeef said that it did not depend on them. He said the war had been imposed on them and they did not know that for how long they would be subjected to aggression.

Dispelling misconceptions about Taliban, he said, they were actually the Afghan nation. “It is wrong to refer to Taliban as a group,” he said. “We are part and parcel of Afghan society,” he remarked and pointed out that nowhere in Afghanistan any protest or any action had been taken by the people against the Taliban government. “Taliban are the Afghan nation and it is very difficult to defeat a whole nation,” he added.

About their links with other Islamic countries, he said, they had been maintaining contacts with different Islamic countries but did not disclose their names.

He said most of the Islamic countries were afraid of the US action and that was why they had not been supporting openly.

Commenting on the strategic gains made by the allied forces through the bombing of last one month, he said, the death toll had risen to 1500 people and that was the only outcome of the operation. “If they regard it as an achievement than that is all they have achieved so far,” he said.

Mullah Zafeef recalled that they had tried their best to avoid the situation and repeatedly asked the United States and the international community to provide them with proofs against Osama bin Laden, but in vain.

He refuted allegations that Al-Qaida had been running training camps inside Afghanistan. He however admitted that some non-Afghan Mujahideen were staying in Afghanistan since Jihad against Soviet aggression. The Afghan nation, he said, would never hand over Osama to the United States or any third country against. However he said that they were still open to negotiations and talks with any country.

Comparing Russian soldiers with Americans, he said, Russian were more daring as they used to come face to face and fight. The American, he said, were totally relying on the technology.

He pointed out that during the last one month only two ground offensives had been carried out by the US troops. He said one which they carried out on a compound of Mullah Omer was beaten back badly while in the second operation they retreated without any action.