Posted on 09/12/2001 9:59:28 PM PDT by HAL9000
ISLAMABAD, Sept 12: The United States is seeking full and practical cooperation from Pakistan to hunt down the suspects involved in the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon, diplomatic sources said."The expectation of Washington, that has been made clear to Islamabad, is that all those countries that stand with the United States in this hour of grief will assist the Bush administration in finding out who has perpetrated this heinous crime," said the sources.
Although Washington has not put forth a specific set of demands for such an assistance, the diplomatic sources say the US is looking for any shred of evidence that may prove that anyone or any group from this region is associated with the attacks.
The primary focus of Washington is on determining the possibilities of the involvement of Osama bin Laden in the attacks, the sources said.
The response of the Pakistan government is not yet known.
Throughout the day Pakistani establishment during several meetings contemplated the consequences of the attacks in the US for Pakistan. Several members of the establishment confirmed that the issue of prime concern for Pakistan is to formulate a response that is in tune with the deep sense of outrage in Washington and at the same time caters to the domestic considerations. During these meetings the need for an appropriate public stance was emphasized by several officials.
Diplomatic sources said the biggest dilemma facing Pakistan is to be prepared for a Washington-led attack against Osama bin Laden and the Taliban in the coming days, which will require Islamabad to render all assistance, including perhaps the use of its air-space and territory.
Because the retaliation is likely to be with the full support of the international community, with the possibility also of the participation of Nato forces, Pakistan would be hard put to keep an equal distance from the Taliban and the forces carrying out the attacks. It will have to take sides, the sources said.
Pakistani military officials say that so far there is no indication that any such attack is imminent. They, however, admit that Washington's retaliation is a foregone conclusion.
"It will be massive and indiscriminate. It is only a question of when and against whom. So far the only name that we are hearing is Osama bin Laden and with him the Taliban," said one senior officer. Meanwhile, the diplomatic sources said Pakistan has contacted the Taliban authorities through its embassy in Kabul conveying the urgency of finding a quick solution to the Osama bin Laden problem.
Pakistani diplomat in Kabul, these sources said, met the Taliban foreign minister, Maulvi Mutawakil, and underlined the need to come up with a quick solution to Osama bin Laden's presence in Afghanistan.
The meeting also discussed the "somewhat weak response" from the Taliban to the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a source said.
"The Taliban said they had condemned the attacks but the English translation made it sound as if they were mildly criticizing it," the source said.
He said the issue of groups, associated with Osama bin Laden, still operating training camps inside Afghanistan and the free movement of Arab radicals were also discussed.
Musharraf assures Bush of cooperation
ISLAMABAD, Sept 12: President Pervez Musharraf early on Thursday assured US President George Bush of Pakistan's "unstinted cooperation" in the fight against terrorism.
"We regard terrorism as an evil that threatens the world community," Musharraf said in a statement following urgent talks with his key aides following Tuesday's kamikaze bombings in the US.
Musharraf presided over a three-hour meeting at his official residence in Rawalpindi. The talks ended well after midnight Wednesday.
Musharraf reiterated that concerted international efforts were needed to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. "All countries must join hands in this common cause," he said. "I wish to assure President Bush and the US government of our unstinted cooperation in the fight against terrorism." He said Pakistan strongly condemned the acts of terrorism.
Musharraf's urgent consultations with aides came before a meeting later on Thursday with the United States ambassador to Islamabad Wendy Chamberlin.
American Secretary of State Colin Powell told a briefing in Washington that the US was looking towards Pakistan for its support and cooperation in fighting terrorism. Powell said the US has not yet determined who was responsible for Tuesday's terror attacks in New York and Washington but alleged terrorist Osama bin Laden, living in Afghanistan, has been described as a prime suspect in international media reports quoting US officials.
Pakistan is one of the only three countries which recognise Taliban rule in Afghanistan.-AFP
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