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NEW YORK CITY: In possibly his first interview since his ouster in
2001, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar told The New York Times he
has not seen Osama bin Laden in five years, and vowed to continue
fighting to free Afghanistan from foreign troops.
“I have neither seen him nor have made any
effort to do so, but I pray for his health and safety,” Omar said
of the al-Qaeda leader with whom he said he shares the “common
goal” of driving US troops from Afghanistan.
In the interview published Friday, Omar said he
had not seen or contacted bin Laden since he left Kandahar in
December 2001 fleeing a US-led coalition that avenged al-Qaeda’s
September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
In answer to questions sent through a Taliban
spokesman who the daily said often speaks to reporters by telephone
from an undisclosed location, Omar said he had no regrets in having
harbored the terrorist mastermind in Afghanistan.
“Our stand to grant refuge to Osama bin Laden
was based on principles,” he said.
“If there were people who were opposed to us
giving refuge to him, they should have done so with logic and
reason, and not using bullying or threats,” Omar said referring to
the US-led coalition that deposed the Taliban.
He denied reports that his Taliban fighters were
receiving assistance and safe haven from Pakistan. “We have not
received any assistance so far . . . The leadership, resistance and
shura (decisions) are all based here in Afghanistan.”
Omar said Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s plan
to convene a meeting between Afghan and Pakistani elders to forge a
peace was a conspiracy by US intelligence agencies.
“Only those people who have sold out to
foreign forces will participate,” he said. “Our participation is
absolutely out of question.”
“First of all, foreign troops should leave
Afghanistan and then the institutions they have created should be
dismantled,” he said.
“Unless that happens, the war will heat up
further. It will not decrease.”
The New York Times stressed it was impossible to
verify claims that the replies to their questions came directly from
Omar, who says he is hiding in Afghanistan but is widely believed to
be in Pakistan.
--AFP
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