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Northern Alliance Backs Ramadan Bombing of Taliban
NEW DELHI, Oct 25 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Ambassador of Afghanistan's Northern Alliance to India said Thursday that the Muslim holy month of Ramadan should have no bearing on the U.S. military strikes against Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia and Saudi exile Osama bin Laden.
"Ramadan does not say to not kill terrorists," Masood Khalili, a close aide of assassinated Northern Alliance commander Ahmad Shah Masood, told journalists in New Delhi. "Ramadan is a holy month which is also against all those who are plotting against our religion [Islam]."
Khalili, who was severely wounded in last month's bombing which killed Masood, stressed that the U.S.-led strikes were targeting the Taliban and "Osama's terrorism" and were not directed against Afghanistan, its people or Islam, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
On the shape of a future government in Afghanistan, Khalili admitted that the opposition Northern Alliance commanded by the late Masood did not have "sufficient" representation from the dominant Pashtun community, which accounts for around 40% of the country's population.
"The Northern Alliance is made up of all ethnic groups - the Tajiks, Ubzeks, the Hazaras and the Pashtuns ... [But] we do not claim to represent the whole of Afghanistan.
"What Afghanistan needs is an interim broad-based government which would lead the country towards elections," he added.
The Northern Alliance, which controls around 10% of the country, was driven from the capital, Kabul, by the Taliban in September 1996.
On Monday, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf called for an end to U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan - set to begin on November 17, as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell claimed sensitivity regarding the holy month but asserts the U.S. must pursue their campaign.
The Pakistani leader told CNN International in an interview that the campaign could provoke "negative" reactions in the Muslim world if it extended into the month of Ramadan
Ramadan is the month when the Qur'an and the revelations of Islam were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset for the entirety of the month, abstaining from all food and drink and concentratign only on strengthening their faith.
"So, one would hope and wish that this campaign comes to an end before the month of Ramadan," said Musharraf. "And, one would hope for restraint during the month of Ramadan, because this would certainly have some negative effects in the Muslim world," he added.
Powell said Washington would like to end the campaign before the onslaught of Afghanistan's severe winter.
"It would be in our interest and the interest of the coalition to see this matter resolved before winter strikes and it makes our operations that much more difficult," Powell told Fox television.
He acknowledged sensitivities among some of Washington's coalition partners if the prospect of continuing raids during Ramadan.
"We have to be respectful of that very, very significant religious period but at the same time we also have to make sure we pursue our campaign," Powell said.
Following General Musharraf's decision to support the U.S. campaign of bombings and other attacks against neighboring Afghanistan, Pakistan was rocked by violent demonstrations organized by Muslim groups.
Earlier, Muslim community leaders and politicians around Asia warned that Muslims in the region could become more hostile if U.S. air strikes continue into Ramadan, BBC's online service reported Sunday.
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