Taliban rule out talks on Kandahar

Published November 21, 2001

SPIN BOLDUK, (Afghanistan) Nov 20: The Taliban have ignored the call for holding negotiations with any tribal delegation for surrendering Kandahar, and said Mulla Omar that has not authorized Haji Bashar to hold talks in this regard.

“All such reports are baseless and wrong. We are not holding talks with any tribal and other groups regarding our withdrawal from Kandahar,” Mulla Najibullah Sherzai, a senior official of the Taliban foreign ministry, told reporters on Tuesday.

He said that Kandahar was fully under the control of the Taliban.

Answering a question, he said Haji Bashar was not chief commander of the Taliban.

“He is a supporter of the Taliban and he has no taken part in the war against the United States.”

He rejected the claims of different tribal groups that they were holding negotiations with Haji Bashar for taking over Kandahar.

Mulla Sherzai said that the Taliban had withdrawn from Kabul and other provinces to save the innocent Afghans from the US bombing. “We are planning to take back all these provinces and cities. Soon, the world would see our action in this regard,” he pledged.

About the Kunduz situation, he said the province was still under the Taliban who were fighting the Northern Alliance forces. However, he pointed out, if Mulla Omar ordered so then the Taliban would withdraw from Kunduz to save the civilians from the bombing.

In reply to a question about Osama bin Laden, the Taliban official said they had no information about the presence of Osama in Kandahar. However, he confirmed, that Mulla Omar was in Kandahar, running the government affairs.