Calling the idea "an insult to Islam," a Taliban diplomat today rejected U.S. President George W. Bush's demand that Afghanistan hand over Osama bin Laden, regarded by U.S. authorities as the chief suspect behind last week's terrorist attacks on the United States.
Pakistan's military ruler President Pervaiz Musharraf has pledged full cooperation with the US against terrorism, but Pakistan will need to carry out a U turn in its policy of support to the Taliban if it is to regain the West's confidence and end its present diplomatic isolation.
"We have set up a crisis task force in Islamabad, which will be making decisions about how to move forward, and will provide direction on deciding what action can be taken," Stephanie Bunker, spokeswoman for the office of the United Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan in Islamabad, told IRIN.
