Military

DATE=09/27/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-281059

TITLE= AFGHAN / PAK / U.S. / L

BYLINE=JIM TEEPLE

DATELINE= JIM TEEPLE

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: A senior Taleban official says alleged terrorist Osama Bin

Laden is hiding in Afghanistan and has probably received a message from

Taleban authorities requesting him to leave the country, voluntarily.

V-O-A's Jim Teeple reports the development comes as a senior U-S

Defense Department team concludes talks in Islamabad with Pakistani

officials on how the U-S / led military effort to combat terrorism is

proceeding.

TEXT: Just a few days ago, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaaef -- the Taleban

ambassador to Islamabad -- said that Taleban authorities had "lost the

whereabouts" of Osama Bin Laden. But, in an interview with Britain's

Channel Four news, Ambassador Zaaef now says the Saudi fugitive is,

"living in an unknown hideout." The ambassador says the

Taleban will not hand over the alleged terrorist and that there is no

room for compromise on the issue.

The latest statements from the Taleban came as senior Pakistani

military officials called two days of talks with their U-S counterparts

successful -- saying there was "complete unanimity" on the issue of

combating terrorism.

General Rashid Qureshi -- the senior spokesman for the Pakistani

Government says, although "Pakistan will contribute to efforts to crush

terrorism wherever it is," Islamabad "will not be involved in any

action plan against Afghanistan."

Pakistani officials have voiced concern over international

efforts to support the opposition Nothern Alliance in Afghanistan at

the

expense of the Taleban. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Riaz

Mohamed Khan says Afghans will not accept a government imposed on them

against their will.

// KHAN ACTUALITY //

Afghanistan's history is before everybody. No puppet regime has ever

survived in Afghanistan. Afghans are a fiercely independent people.

// END ACTUALITY //

Taleban forces control about 90 percent of Afghanistan with the

Northern Alliance controlling the rest. For their part, U-S officials have said

they are worried about stability in Afghanistan. Secretary of

State Colin Powell says the United States will try look for "fissures" within the

Taleban -- and convince some members it is in their

best interest to cooperate with the international effort to bring Osama

Bin Laden and members of his al-Quaida organization to justice.

(Signed)

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