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Pakistan to Taliban: Close consulate
By MUNIR AHMAD
Associated Press Writer
11/8/01
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — In a diplomatic crackdown on its former allies, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it had ordered the Taliban to close its consulate in the port city of Karachi.
Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, said his military government has "no intention'' of breaking diplomatic relations with the Taliban regime, which is harboring Osama bin Laden, the top suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
He said it was "essential'' these ties be maintained.
The ties provide "a useful diplomatic window,'' Musharraf said in Paris, where he met French President Jacques Chirac to discuss the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism.
Staff at the Afghan consulate in Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city, have been asked to return to Afghanistan immediately, said Aziz Ahmad Khan, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry.
Taliban Ambassador Abdul Salam Zaeef told The Associated Press that the Pakistanis ordered operations at the Karachi consulate to cease by the end of this week. Pakistani officials said the government informed the Taliban of the order Tuesday.
The Taliban also maintain an embassy in Islamabad and consulates in Quetta and Peshawar. "They're functioning,'' Khan said.
Zaeef was also told to stop his regular press conferences, in which he condemned the United States and its coalition partners for the bombing campaign.
Pakistan supports the U.S. campaign, which was launched Oct. 7 after the ruling militia refused to hand over bin Laden.
Because of the press conferences, which were broadcast live by CNN, Zaeef became the most visible spokesman for the Islamic fundamentalist militia.
Pakistan took the moves ahead of a nationwide strike called for Friday by Islamic activists to protest Musharraf's support of the bombing campaign.
Officials said the government has told Zaeef to make sure Afghan diplomatic staff here do not take part in any rallies. After Europe, the next stop on Musharraf's trip is the United States, where he will meet President Bush during a session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
Karachi is the major Pakistani commercial and banking center. It is also a center of Islamic fundamentalist activity and scene of the largest protests against the bombing campaign.
Pakistan is the only country that maintains diplomatic relations with the Taliban. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates severed their ties after the September terrorist attacks.