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Taliban’s Zaeef to Be Handed Over to U.S.
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| "I am
ready to face any open court," Zaeef says.
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Report BY Aamir Latif, IOL Corespondent In Pakisatn
ISLAMABAD, Jan. 4 (Islam Online) - The Taliban's former ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, who was detained Thursday by Pakistani security officials, is likely to be handed over to the United States to be tried before a court, well-placed military sources told IslamOnline Friday, January 4, 2002.
The court has summoned him on a petition filed by the families of the victims of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef's residence was raided Thursday afternoon, his nephew Hameedullah told IslamOnline by telephone. “Since then we have not heard any thing about him,” Hameed said.
Pakistan’s foreign office spokesman, Aziz Ahmed Khan, expressed unawareness about the arrest in an interview with news reporters. “I have no information about it as no charges have been framed against him,” he maintained.
The foreign office has already turned down the request of Zaeef and other Taliban leaders seeking political asylum in Pakistan.
According to the military sources, Zaeef has been shifted to an unknown place in Peshawar for investigation as regards Taliban’s Supreme Leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, and other militia bigwigs.
The former Taliban envoy is being interrogated by a joint team of Pakistan's Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) and the American FBI, sources claimed.
They said that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) believe that Mullah Omar was holed up somewhere in Pakistan’s tribal belt near Peshawar or Quetta, and must be in touch with Zaeef if he was indeed in Pakistan.
However, Pakistan has categorically denied the presence of Mullah Omar and Osama Bin Laden on its territory.
Sources asserted that the (George W.) Bush administration had demanded of Pakistan to hand over Zaeef to present him before the court of law as Taliban’s representative.
In an interview with IslamOnline, a foreign office official denied sources’ claims that “the government has not received any such demand”. However, he avoided confirming whether Pakistan would entertain such a demand if it was made in the future. He also refused to comment on the arrest of Zaeef.
Zaeef -- the most familiar face of the Taliban regime -- fought a media war for the Taliban militia in Islamabad.
Earlier Thursday, the private Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) quoted Zaeef as saying he performed his duty in Islamabad as a diplomat and was not engaged in any criminal activity.
"Still, if there is any suspicion, I am ready to face any open court,'' AIP quoted him as saying.
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