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Pakistan
Orders Taliban's Last Embassy to Close
Additional reporting
by Aamir Latif
ISLAMABAD, Nov. 22 (IslamOnline
& News Agencies) – Bowing swiftly to the U.S. demand, Pakistan has ordered
the Taliban to close their embassy in Islamabad, Taliban's last remaining
diplomatic mission, the Pakistan foreign ministry said on Thursday.
“Yesterday, the
decision was taken to close the embassy in Islamabad. It has been communicated
officially to the Afghans this morning,'' spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan told a news
conference.
The U.S. State
Department on Wednesday demanded Pakistan to close down the Taliban Embassy in
Islamabad and send back their diplomats to Afghanistan.
"The decision has
been taken and it will be announced soon," an official source said,
requesting anonymity, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Foreign Minister Abdul
Sattar informed the cabinet of the decision during its meeting Wednesday under
the chairmanship of the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, the source added.
Afghan Deputy Ambassador to Pakistan, Sohail Shaheen when contacted by
IslamOnline confirmed that he had received the orders of Pakistan's foreign
ministry as regards closing of embassy. " We are leaving Pakistan within a
day or two,” he said. However, he refused to comment on the decision.
Pakistan earlier in
the week closed the Taliban's consulates in the northwestern city of Peshawar
and the southwestern city of Quetta. Pakistan Tuesday ordered the Taliban to
close its last two consulates as " they are unnecessary after the collapse
of Taliban rule in most of Afghanistan".
On Tuesday, Pakistan summoned the Taliban Ambassador Abdul Salam Zaeef to the
Foreign Ministry and ordered him to close consulates in the northern city of
Peshawar and in Quetta
in southwestern Pakistan, Foreign Ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan said.
Pakistan was one of
only three countries that had recognized the Taliban regime, which until last
week controlled more than 90 percent of Afghanistan.
But after weeks of
U.S.-led air strikes, the Taliban has lost control of most of that territory to
its opponents, mainly to the Northern Alliance.
Sattar said on Monday
that Pakistan was no longer doing business with the Taliban although it had not
withdrawn diplomatic recognition.
Pakistan withdrew all
its diplomatic staff from Afghanistan in September but allowed the Taliban
embassy in Islamabad to stay open, saying it could
serve as a window for the rest of the world for contact with the Islamic
movement.
Earlier this month,
Pakistan shut down the Taliban consulate in Karachi because of its alleged
involvement in anti-U.S. and anti-government demonstrations there.
Pakistan said Monday
that it no longer maintains relations with the Taliban but would not expel its
ambassador for the time being.
Pakistan had been the
Taliban's closest ally since it was established in 1994 but abandoned them after
the Sept. 11 deadly attacks in the United States.
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