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Masood Pressures Europe Over Taliban
STRASBOURG, April 5 (News Agencies) - Afghan opposition leader Ahmad Shah Masood, on a series of high-level meetings with European officials, came to the European Parliament Thursday asking for political support to combat the Taliban.
His high-profile European tour, from Paris earlier in the week to the European Commission in Brussels on Friday, is seen by analysts as a get-tough signal in Europe's diplomatic struggle with Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia.
Masood was accorded a head-of-state welcome by parliament President Nicole Fontaine, who had invited him.
Soft-spoken at a press conference, Masood denied claims by the Taliban that they control 90% of the country, saying his group held sway over 50% of Afghan territory.
He also denied claims he received military assistance from neighboring Iran and Russia, but would not be drawn on whether he had come to Europe with a military shopping list, or whether he would accept military aid if offered.
"Whatever will lead to peace and independence and the restoration of dignity and sovereignty in Afghanistan, we will accept," he said.
Pressed on whether he was seeking direct military aid and foreign troops, Masood said, "We have not asked and we do not need foreign military troops to defend our land."
"The people of Afghanistan are ready to resist and to defend our land, but this requires support," he added, not specifying what support he wanted.
"The strengthening of the resistance against the Taliban will provide the opportunity for a peaceful settlement and make Taliban think peace rather than continued war," he said.
The Taliban's chief backer is believed to be Pakistan.
Fontaine said she had received a letter of protest to Masood's invitation here from the Pakistani ambassador in Brussels, and would write back "asking Pakistan to stop supporting the Taliban because of its fanatical ... views."
Masood said: "If Pakistan's support of the Taliban stopped today, the armed conflict would be over in one year."
Masood's trip to Europe comes just weeks after the Taliban's widely-condemned destruction of the ancient Bamiyan Buddhist statues, and at a time when Afghanistan has found its way back into Western headlines.
The Taliban has been widely condemned for its religious conservatism, particularly its treatment of women - which is more cultural than Islamic - who are denied formal education and the right to work.
With anti-Taliban sentiment running high in the West, Masood, who rose to prominence in the fight against the Soviet occupation in the 1980s when he became known as the "Lion of the Panjshir," has become the sole leader of importance holding out against the Taliban.
The militia ousted his conflict-ridden government from Kabul in 1996, and his army has been forced into northeastern Badakhshan province and the Panjshir valley north of Kabul.
Masood's "Islamic State of Afghanistan" is recognized by the U.N. and officially headed by a veteran scholar, Burhanuddin Rabbani.
The Taliban government is called the "Islamic Emirate," led by the reclusive Mullah Mohammad Omar.
In Paris earlier this week, Masood met with Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine and the speaker of parliament, Raymond Forni, calling on Europe and the United States for "any help you can give us to win back our country."
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