Afghanistan's Taliban rulers continue to voice defiance in the face of fresh warnings that they must hand over Osama bin Laden and shut down his training camps or face devastating military attacks.
The Taliban's ambassador to Pakistan and main mouthpiece to the outside world dismissed threats that their regime could be toppled. He instead called for negotiations.
In Washington, President Bush echoed today's warning by the British Prime Minister that the Taliban must surrender bin Laden or face the consequences. He stressed that there was no timetable for military action and that America would persist for as long as it took.
Pakistan earlier said that it had still not received direct evidence linking the bin Laden, to the 11 September attacks in the United States. The statement was made after a meeting between Pakistan's President and the US ambassador.
In Brussels earlier, NATO's Secretary General, George Robertson, said that the United States had produced conclusive evidence that bin Laden was behind the attacks. The alliance invoked its mutual defence clause for the first time in response to the attacks.
Meanwhile, thousands of Pakistanis defied a government ban and took to the streets to show support for the Taliban regime. It is estimated that between 10,000 and 50,000 protesters paraded through the southwestern city of Quetta, near the Afghan border.
The former king of Afghanistan yesterday reached agreement with the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan to form an alternative administration to the Taliban in Kabul. Mohammad Zahir Shah agreed with Northern Alliance representatives to set up a council of military and tribal leaders as a first step towards forming the government.
The agreement was reached following days of negotiation in Rome. The Pakistani Ambassador to the United Nations, Shamshad Amad, said that his country is opposed to a rebel-led government in Afghanistan.
