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Taliban Given Three Days to Hand over Bin Laden: CNN Report
Pakistan is to give the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan three days to hand over suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden or face military action.
The ultimatum comes as Pakistan makes eleventh-hour diplomatic efforts to prevent a military strike in the region.
It follows a late-night telephone conversation between U.S. President George W. Bush and his Pakistan counterpart Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
A Pakistan emissary will be going to Afghanistan within the next 24 hours to push for a peaceful solution to the confrontation.
The spiritual leader of the Taliban movement, Mullah Mohammad Omar, on Sunday called on Islamic clerics to gather in Kabul, for an urgent meeting to discuss the defence of the nation.
Afghanistan was nearly isolated on Sunday as almost all remaining Westerners prepared to evacuate ahead of expected U.S. attacks on bin Laden and his Taliban protectors.
Surrounding countries buzzed with political activity, border closures, support and opposition to American military action, warnings of cultural conflicts, and at least one anti-American protest.
Iran announced it was sealing its eastern border with Afghanistan, opposition fighters retained control of a narrow northern corridor, and Pakistan pledged to support U.S. anti-terrorism efforts.
The United States has given Pakistan a "wish list" of actions it wants Pakistan to take in the aftermath of terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Included on that list is allowing, if requested, U.S. warplanes access to Pakistani airspace.
Commentators say Musharraf faces a stark choice -- help the United States and risk internal turmoil, or back away and suffer sanctions, possible military strikes and economic meltdown.
Islamic extremists have urged Musharraf not to help, warning it could trigger a violent backlash in Pakistan, an Islamic country of 140 million people.
Bin Laden on Sunday denied any involvement in last week's attacks, via a statement faxed to the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) news agency.
In Kabul, preparations continue for expected U.S. action. The International Committee of the Red Cross -- which has stayed put through some of the worst conflicts in modern history -- said it was pulling out its remaining foreign staff after the Taliban said they could not guarantee their safety, Reuters reported.
Other Western aid agencies -- including the United Nations -- have already withdrawn. Frightened Afghans also continued to flee, ignoring the Taliban's calls to stay and wage a jihad against the United States and its allies if Washington attacks.
Thousands of Afghans have poured across the border into Pakistan in the past few days, swelling refugee camps already near bursting point with around two million residents.
But the hardline Islamic Taliban remain unbowed, calling for Muslims to fight to the death against American aggression and threatening to attack neighboring countries helping Washington -- remarks clearly aimed at Pakistan, once the movement's main backer.
The departure of foreign aid workers has been felt in particular by the residents of Kabul, a city devastated by years of war and where even the most basic of services have broken down.
Their plight struck a chord even with a normally fiercely anti-Taliban group, which on Sunday urged the U.S. to show restraint.
"We sincerely hope that the great American people could differentiate between the people of Afghanistan and a handful of fundamentalist terrorists," said a statement from the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA).
Bush on Saturday declared the United States was at war with global terror and named bin Laden, sheltered by the Taliban, as the prime suspect.
Although previous attempts to kill or capture bin Laden have failed, Bush said this time the perpetrators of the attack dissident would be "smoked out" wherever they hide.
Those who protect them also face retribution, he said.
While many people tried to flee the country, others in refugee camps in Pakistan -- many no friends of the Taliban -- vowed to return and fight should the U.S. attack. The extent of U.S. retaliation against the Taliban probably rests most with Pakistan, one of only three countries to recognise the Taliban government, with Musharraf facing what commentators say is Pakistan's toughest decision since independence from Britain in 1947.
In neighboring India, police in all states have been told to watch out for communal clashes if the United States strikes.
Strained relations between India's majority Hindus and the Muslim minority, which make up about 11 percent of the population, have often spilled into communal riots in which thousands have died over the past decade.
CNN Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty reports that the Foreign Ministry of Tajikistan has denied it is allowing U.S. troops to take up positions in Tajikistan for possible military strikes on terrorist bases in neighboring Afghanistan. Tajikistan has thousands of forces on the border between the two countries.
Russian forces also are on the border and some have speculated that Tajikistan and Russia might allow the U.S. to launch operations from there. The Tajik foreign ministry dismisses that speculation as "rumors".
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