Author: Rauf Klasra
Publication: Dawn, Karachi
Date: February 19, 2001
Afghanistan has agreed to extradite
Osama bin Laden to his home country Saudi Arabia for trial on charges of
terrorism, Dawn learnt from authoritative sources here on Sunday.
The offer to shift the Saudi dissident,
who has been stripped of his citizenship, was made by Afghan supreme ruler
Mulla Mohammad Omar to Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider during his recent
visit to Afghanistan.
Mr Haider had met the Afghan ruler
in Kandahar to request the Taliban government to hand over those Pakistani
nationals who had taken refuge in the war-torn country to escape justice.
A high-level source said that the
issue of Osama's extradition to a third country for trial was not raised
by Pakistan.
"We never raised the Osama issue;
it was raised by no less a person than Mulla Omar during the talks," the
source added. "Mulla Omar had proposed handing over of Osama to Saudi Arabia
for trial."
The source said Mulla Omar had told
the Pakistan side that if Saudi Arabia was not willing to accept Osama,
because of political repercussion in the country, Kabul was ready to shift
the Saudi dissident to "another Muslim country".
"The Amir-ul-Momineen ( Mulla Omar)
did not disclose the name of the third country," the source added.
Washington had earlier asked Pakistan
to use its influence with the Taliban regime and convince them to extradite
Osama either to the US or to another country where justice can be done.
He is accused of masterminding twin US embassy bombing in Africa in 1998
and is among the 10 most wanted men in the US.
Although Pakistan apparently refuses
to mediate between the Taliban and the US, some concrete evidence suggests
that Pakistan is actively involved in mediation to settle the Osama issue,
which has brought a lot of miseries to both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The source said Mr Haider was surprised
when Mulla Omar offered to extradite Osama to Saudi Arabia.
The UN slapped sanctions last month
to force the Taliban to hand over Osama.
Diplomatic sources believe that
the UN sanctions have started taking their toll and it was for this reason
that Mulla Omar had offered to hand over Osama to Saudi Arabia for trial.
A Muslim diplomat toldDawnthat the
third Muslim country, referred to by Mulla Omar, could be the United Arab
Emirates (UAE).
He said that the unscheduled visit
of UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan to Pakistan on Friday
should be seen in the background of Mulla Omar's offer.
UAE is the only third country after
Islamabad and Riyadh, which recognises the Taliban regime.
The diplomat said Pakistan, the
UAE and Saudi Arabia were jointly discussing the pros and cons of trying
Osama in Saudi Arabia or in a third Muslim country ( which could be the
UAE)."They are likely to request Washington to accept the new offer made
by Mulla Omar," the diplomat added.
He, however, feared that Saudi Arabia
or the UAE could ill-afford to hold Osama's trial as it could spark violence
and destabilise monarchies in these countries.
"There is a strong possibility that
these countries would jointly approach the Taliban to hand over the 58-year-old
Osama directly to some neutral western country like Switzerland to hold
the trial of the Saudi dissident on the pattern of Lockerbie trial of two
Libyans.
The source termed Mulla Omar's offer
a significant shift in the policy of Taliban, who had been refusing to
extradite Osama, saying that there was no evidence available against him.
The Afghan government had also announced
that it would face the UN sanctions, saying that such curbs could not force
it to change its policy.
The Taliban claim that Osama is
being closely watched and is not allowed to launch any operation from Afghanistan.
The trial of four associates of
Osama, who have pleaded not guilty, has already begun in a New York court.
Of 18 others, who have been indicted, one has pleaded guilty.
