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Afghanistan's Taliban Demand International Recognition
KABUL, March 18 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Demanding international recognition, the foreign minister of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia on Sunday accused the world community of isolating the Islamic regime.
The minister, Wakil Ahmad Mutawakel, also dismissed worldwide protests over the destruction of ancient Buddhist statues, saying it was an internal matter based on religious beliefs.
The destruction of the statues, including two giant Buddha sculptures in the central city of Bamiyan this month, was an "internal religious issue" and not an insult to other religions, he told a news conference.
"These statues had been left over from great grandfathers as a wrong heritage," Mutawakel said. "They were in conflict with our beliefs."
Denying the demolition of the 1,500-year-old Bamiyan statues was a political move, Mutawakel said he was hopeful the Taliban's actions would not weaken its case for diplomatic recognition.
Afghanistan deserved to have its place in the international community restored after more than two decades of fighting, triggered by the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation of the Central Asian state, he said.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan is recognized only by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Mutawakel said the regime's pariah status, which includes tough U.N. sanctions, was hurting ordinary people.
"Isolation is a problem for the Afghan people and we are also a part of this people," he said.
He said he was astonished by the world's reaction to the demolition of the statues, but promised foreign journalists in Kabul would be given permission to see what was left of them.
He also accused the international community of politicizing relief aid for the thousands who have been affected by the country's in-fighting and a severe drought throughout most of the country for nearly three years.
Mutawakel said the international community had also ignored the Taliban's total ban on poppy cultivation announced last year.
"But when some statues of stone were destroyed, the international community made such a hue and cry, which really astonished us."
He insisted the Taliban would respect the traditions of others.
"There is no problem when we are talking of respect to each others' traditions. Naturally there should be a chance given to negotiations. The problem is that now the advanced world does not want negotiations," he said.
Meanwhile, a powerful car bomb that killed five people in Kabul was aimed at Mulla Amir Khan Muttaqi, a key minister in the Taliban, the regime said Sunday.
Education Minister Muttaqi narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when a car bomb went off here Saturday, Information Minister Qudratullah Jamal told reporters.
Jamal said the bomb had been planted in a taxi stationed along Muttaqi's driving route.
"He is slightly wounded on the face by the shattered front window of the car, but has received no shrapnel," Jamal said.
A total of five people were killed in the blast in the city's western section of Karte Parwan, including two children.
About a dozen others were injured, including Muttaqi's brother and several Taliban fighters.
"Thankfully, he [Muttaqi] is alright and the opposition program was a complete failure," the information minister said.
Other officials said Muttaqi was undergoing treatment at a military hospital in Kabul.
Jamal accused the opposition forces headed by commander Ahmad Shah Masood of carrying out the unsuccessful attempt to prove their "enmity with Islam" and the Taliban administration.
"This is a job of the opposition,'' said Mullah Abdul Nafi as quoted by the BBC. ''They once again committed a cowardly act. The people will never forgive them.''
Masood has denied similar allegations in the past, blaming the explosions on the ruling militia's internal problems.
This was the second reported attempt on Muttaqi's life.
Muttaqi, who has served in several other key posts since the Taliban took Kabul in 1996, was unhurt in late 1999 when a bomb planted in his jeep went off minutes before he boarded the vehicle.
His driver was killed in the attack.
Taliban police Saturday arrested an "opposition saboteur" with explosives, a wireless and two hand-grenades in Kabul, the regime's Radio Shariat reported.
Abdul Samad, a resident of Kabul's Microrayon Kona area, had concealed explosives in a pressure cooker with the aim of detonating them in a "crowded" part of the city, the broadcast said.
Jamal said Samad had admitted he was part of a group assigned by the opposition to stage explosions in Kabul to disturb security while there were more foreign journalists to cover the destruction of Buddhist statues by the militia.
Kabul has seen a series of bombings in recent months, with many of the explosions occurring near the Pakistan Embassy or its ambassador's residence.
Last year, the Taliban publicly hanged four people accused of staging a string of bomb blasts in the capital.
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