Ananova:

Pakistani religious and government figures have held another meeting with the Taliban but have failed to persuade them to surrender Osama bin Laden.

A cleric participating in the talks said the Taliban stance on the accused terror mastermind has not changed.

Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar told the Pakistani delegation that America must give up its stubbornness, and then Afghanistan can negotiate.

Even while describing the talks as "fruitful," the Taliban's ambassador to Pakistan, who accompanied the Pakistani delegation, said the subject of bin Laden had been out of bounds.

Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban envoy, insisted the purpose of the talks are "not to discuss Osama bin Laden, but to discuss the crisis."

He said the two sides "talked about the stability of Afghanistan and Pakistan." There would be more meetings, he said.

The meeting took place in the Taliban headquarters of Kandahar with the reclusive Omar and other top officials from the hard-line Islamic Taliban movement.

Senior Pakistani government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, refused to discuss the outcome, saying they needed to speak with their delegates first.

Story filed: 18:51 Friday 28th September 2001

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