Taliban Denies Closure of Offices in PakistanTaliban Sunday dismissed as baseless reports that the Pakistani government ordered immediate closure of all Taliban offices in the country."We have neither closed our offices nor received any order for the closure," Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Mulla Abdul Salam Zaeef said here. Earlier reports suggested that Pakistan has ordered immediate closure of all Taliban offices as well as the offices of Afghan Ariana Airlines besides freezing of funds and other financial assets of Osama bin Laden to be in line with the UN sanctions on Afghanistan. According to sources in the Afghan Embassy, despite denial of office-closing order from Pakistan, the Ta1iban militia have decided to reduce staff in diplomatic missions in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. Its supreme leader Mulla Mohammad Omar will approve names of the staff to be cut. There are 25 staff members in Afghan Embassy including 6 diplomats. Pakistan is among the three countries which recognize Taliban as Afghan government. The other two are Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirate. |
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