| Taliban prepared to meet US over bin Laden |
The leader of Afghanistan's Taliban government says he is willing to meet US officials to discuss the possible extradition of Osama bin Laden..
According to the Taliban's official Bakhtar news agency, Mullah Mohammed Omar says he is prepared to meet US representatives.
A meeting of the Islamic council of clerics meeting ended after several hours of talks and will resume tomorrow.
Omar said: "Osama has denied his involvement. It is unfortunate that America does not listen to us and levels all sorts of charges and threatens military action.
"We have held talks in...the past with US governments several times, and we are ready for more talks."
The gathering opened with the reading of a speech by Omar saying that Washington's portrayal of bin Laden without any evidence is an effort to harm the Taliban, according to the Afghan Islamic Press, a Pakistan-based Afghan news agency with close ties to the Taliban.
But Omar added: "If America still wants to attack us...and to destroy the Islamic government of Afghanistan, we want to get the religious decision from you, our respected religious scholars."
The clerics are also expected to decide whether Muslims in Afghanistan and other countries should declare a holy war against the United States if its forces attack Afghanistan.
As many as 1,000 clerics from across the country travelled to the capital to help the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan decide its next step regarding the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
Bin Laden, a Saudi millionaire and an exile from his own country, is the main suspect in the case, and Pakistan officials met with Taliban leaders in Afghanistan earlier this week to discuss the US demand to extradite him for prosecution.
Story filed: 13:02 Wednesday 19th September 2001
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