-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! Pakistan Says It's Keeping Ties with Taliban By Adrian Croft ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan said Tuesday it would maintain diplomatic links with Afghanistan (news - web sites)'s ruling Taliban and warned against foreign governments giving military aid to the movement's opponents. ``We must not make the blunder of trying to foist a government on the people of Afghanistan,'' Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said at a joint news conference with a European Union (news - web sites) delegation. Sattar, speaking hours after Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with the Taliban, said Pakistan would continue to recognize the hard-line Islamic regime -- the only country in the world to have ties with the movement sheltering Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden (news - web sites). Sattar said Pakistan, which temporarily pulled its diplomatic staff out of Afghanistan Monday, would communicate with the Taliban leadership through their embassy in Islamabad. The United States has warned the Taliban they will suffer the same punishment as bin Laden, who it has accused of involvement in the September 11 attacks on Washington and New York, unless he and his aides are turned over. But Sattar condemned any plan by other governments to give military aid to the Taliban's opposition in Afghanistan. Russia has said it will support the Northern Alliance in its campaign against the Taliban. ``RECIPE FOR GREAT SUFFERING'' ``Afghan groups are asking for foreign military assistance. The Northern Alliance has said so,'' Sattar said. ``And we fear that any such decision on the part of foreign powers to give assistance to one side or the other in Afghanistan is a recipe for great suffering for the people of Afghanistan.'' Top European Union officials, led by Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, earlier met Pakistan's military ruler General Pervez Musharraf as part of a whirlwind tour of Islamic countries to drum up support for a global response to September 11 attacks on the United States. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Monday the team would visit six predominantly Muslim nations -- Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Syria. While Musharraf was meeting the EU delegation, his army officers were locked in talks with a U.S. team on possible war preparations. European Commissioner for External Relations Christopher Patten told reporters the European Union recognized the need to give Pakistan quick assistance for its economic reforms and talks would continue. But he said the EU delegation could not put a price tag on the separate humanitarian aid that would be needed to meet the needs of Afghans because of the looming crisis. Solana said the team would discuss what military contribution, if any, the countries they would visit might be willing to make to the U.S.-led campaign. But he said it would urge them to ``come together'' against a common threat, which he said was terrorism. Photos Reuters Photo ``We want to make it absolutely clear that the campaign against terrorism ... is a campaign for the whole world,'' Patten told reporters aboard the plane flying the EU mission to Pakistan. ``It is not a question of America and Europe against Islam.'' Michel told reporters after meeting Pakistan's finance minister that the European Union was looking at ways of developing a ``long-term'' cooperation with Islamabad. ``We have brought a message of support, of understanding and also of help, we think Pakistan is facing a very difficult moment,'' he said. WHAT ABOUT THE MILITARY? The flurry of diplomatic activity coincided with a highly secretive visit by a team of about six U.S. military and other officials to pave the way for any strike against Afghanistan. Officials refused all comment on the team's discussions but The News said the group, was ``assessing'' the situation and had not come to discuss operational specifics. ``Basically, it is a mid-level U.S. military team and it has come to Pakistan only for assessment of the situation. For deciding specifics, there will be a senior level military team which will visit Pakistan in days to come,'' The News quoted a senior Pakistani official as saying. Musharraf has promised full support to the United States in its fight against terrorism but has also underscored the limits of that help in view of a possible backlash by Islamic groups in case of U.S. strikes on Afghanistan. Islamic groups have threatened to hold protest marches, demonstrations and rallies across the country to try to mobilize public opinion against any U.S. moves. Peaceful rallies were being held daily in the northwestern town of Peshawar on the border with Afghanistan and several pro-Taliban Islamic leaders have vowed jihad, or holy war, against Washington. One group said it was already sending its fighters to the border of western Baluchistan province to prevent U.S. attacks against southern Afghanistan, stronghold of Taliban spiritual leader Mullah Mohammad Omar. Government officials say the presence of two million Afghan refugees already living in Pakistan, and the prospects of hundreds of thousands more pouring in following any U.S. attack, created a security risk. They also say that tribals, living on the border with Afghanistan and sharing the same language, culture and history, pose another threat in case the situation spins out of control. The United States has not publicly stated what support it seeks from Pakistan, but it is understood that it has asked for use of its airspace and intelligence sharing to hunt down bin Laden, reportedly hiding among the rugged desolate mountains of Afghanistan. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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