Military

DATE=09/19/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-280745

TITLE= AFGHAN MEETING (L)

BYLINE=JIM TEEPLE

DATELINE= ISLAMABAD

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Taleban authorities in Afghanistan say calls to surrender alleged

terrorist Osama bin Laden are a "pretext" to destroy Taleban rule in

Afghanistan. About one thousand Afghan Muslim clerics have gathered in

Kabul for a meeting to discuss the fate of Osama bin Laden, who is wanted

by the United States for his alleged role in the attacks on New York and Washington. V-O-A's Jim Teeple reports from Islamabad.

TEXT: In a defiant speech read out to the clerics, the Taleban supreme

leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, said the enemies of Afghanistan view the

Taleban Islamic system as a thorn in their eye and are seeking to finish it

off.

In his speech to the gathering of the "shura," or council, Mullah Omar said

Osama bin Laden is just the latest "pretext" being used by the enemies of

the Taleban to destroy their rule. Mullah Omar said he wished to assure the

United States and the rest of the world that Osama bin Laden had not used

Afghan territory as a base for attacking anyone. However, the reclusive

Taleban leader also repeated his offer of talks with the United States to

settle all outstanding issues.

President Bush rejected the call for talks, saying now is the time to act.

Mullah Omar also called on the United States to exercise patience and to

provide proof of who was behind the attacks that killed more than

five-thousand people. President Bush says Osama bin Laden is the prime

suspect in the attacks, and he has indicated he wants the Saudi fugitive

taken dead or alive.

Mullah Omar's comments are the first he has made since he met with a senior

Pakistani delegation. Speaking in Islamabad, Riaz Mohammed Khan, the

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman said the delegation made every effort

to convey the seriousness of the situation Afghanistan faces.

// KHAN ACTUALITY //

The Delegation impressed upon the Afghan leadership the gravity of the

situation, and what the international community expected from the

Afghanistan government and leadership. We only hope that the Afghan

leadership is able to take the right decisions which are in the best

interests of the Afghan people.

// END ACTUALITY //

Meanwhile leaders of 35 Pakistan Islamic organizations said on Wednesday

they will obey any call for a "jihad," or holy war, against the United States

made by the clerics meeting in Kabul. Maulana Sami-ul Haq, who heads a

grouping of pro-Taleban Islamic groups also warned Pakistan's President,

General Pervez Musharraf against backing any campaign by the United States

and its allies to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. (SIGNED)

NEB/JLT/MAR