Friday, September 21, 2001, updated at 15:44(GMT+8)
World
Handover of Osama Impossible: Taliban Official
The Afghan Taliban chief representative to Pakistan, Mulla Abdul Salam Zaeef, said Friday there was no shift in Taliban's position on handing over of Osama bin Laden, most wanted by the United States as the prime suspect in the terrorist attacks last week.
Local media quoted Zaeef as saying in an interview with the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) the forced expulsion of Osama or his handing over to another country against his will is "an insult to Islam."
Asked whether Taliban would stick to their position for the sake of one person even if it will cost them their rule, the Taliban official said, "It is not a question of a person but a question of Islam and Shariah (Islamic law)."
The Afghan Taliban chief representative to Pakistan, Mulla Abdul Salam Zaeef, said Friday there was no shift in Taliban's position on handing over of Osama bin Laden, most wanted by the United States as the prime suspect in the terrorist attacks last week.