Pakistan minister met Mullah Omar on Musharraf's directive
Dated 9/8/2005
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Islamabad, Aug 9 (IANS) Pakistan's former interior minister Moinuddin Haider has admitted he thrice met Taliban chief Mullah Omar on President Pervez Musharraf's directive to seek Osama bin Laden's deportation from Afghanistan, Online news agency reports.
In an interview with a private TV channel, Haider said: "I met the Taliban chief before and after 9/11 on President Musharraf's directives and informed him about reservations of the international community regarding their style of government, giving refuge to Osama and running training camps."
He said Omar always listened to his suggestions seriously but refused to comply with them for different reasons that aggravated the situation in the region.
"I asked Mullah Omar to deport Osama as Afghanistan was becoming a centre of focus but he refused by saying that Osama is our guest. I demanded closure of training camps and he outrightly denied the presence of any camps in Afghanistan," Haider said.
He said he made it clear to Omar that "the whole world knows training camps are being run under your patronage". He also asked Omar to return Pakistanis who went to Afghanistan for training in terrorist camps.
