Pakistani Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider will visit Afghanistan next month to discuss issues such as arms control, drug trafficking and refugees, a report said Friday.
He said he would visit Pakistan's war-torn neighbor on the invitation of the ruling Taliban militia after celebrations marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
"I will discuss various issues with Afghan leaders including the return of refugees, food supply, control of arms and narcotics, besides bilateral ties," he was quoted as saying.
The announcement follows a US and Russian call for tougher UN sanctions against the Taliban for harboring alleged terrorists such as Osama bin Laden, suspected of masterminding the twin US embassy bombings in Africa in 1998.
A draft resolution including an arms embargo against the Taliban has been tabled with the UN Security Council and a vote is expected in the coming weeks.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar has condemned the proposed curbs, telling AFP they were biased and likely to hurt ordinary Afghans at a time of severe drought and continuing civil war.
Pakistan is one of only three countries that recognizes the fundamentalist Taliban regime.
Islamabad has been under international pressure to use its influence with the militia to convince them to extradite bin Laden and close alleged terrorist training camps.
The proposed UN sanctions could put even more heat on Pakistan, which denies allegations that it supplies information, arms and men to help the Taliban in their war against opposition forces in the north.
Officials say several Pakistanis accused of involvement in terrorism and sectarian violence have taken shelter in Afghanistan. Islamabad has already handed over a list of suspects to the Taliban authorities.
Pakistan is also one of the chief victims of Afghanistan's massive opium crop, with the flood of cheap heroin creating millions of addicts and raising fears of an AIDS epidemic.
It recently closed its border to new refugees fleeing ongoing fighting and a cruel drought, saying it could not support any more than the millions who had already fled to Pakistan over the past 21 years -- ISLAMABAD (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
