US Rejects Pakistan Ramadan PleaUS Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has rejected Pakistan's call to stop bombing Afghanistan during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.Mr Rumsfeld - on a tour of Afghanistan's neighbours - was speaking after talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad with President Pervez Musharraf. The talks were seen as crucial to maintaining Pakistani support for the US-led campaign in Afghanistan. General Musharraf has called for a pause in the air strikes during Ramadan, which begins in mid-November. He warned on Friday that continuing the bombing during Ramadan would have a "huge negative fallout". But Mr Rumsfeld's message was clear - the bombing will go on. Mr Rumsfeld told the press conference in Islamabad that he was aware of General Musharraf's views on a "sensitive" issue. But he said the US had to pursue the al-Qaeda network, which Washington blames for the 11 September terror attacks, and its Taleban protectors in Afghanistan. He said the Taleban were no longer functioning as a full government after four weeks of US-led airstrikes. Despite the disagreement over Ramadan, however, the emphasis at the press conference in Pakistan was on continuing co-operation between the two countries. |
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