M A I N   N E W S

Demolition to continue, says Taliban chief

Kabul, march 5
Taliban chief Mulla Mohammad Omar used the Id-al-Adha festival today to urge the Muslim world to support the destruction of ancient Buddhist icons and unite behind his vision of Islam.

The reclusive war veteran and “Islamic scholar” said the annihilation of Buddhist statues in Afghanistan would proceed despite vehement international condemnation and protests from Islamic states.

He said the statues, including the giant ancient Buddhas in the central province of Bamiyan, were only “1 per cent” of Afghanistan’s historical heritage.

“The global outcry is a drama which should be transparent to Muslims with common sense,”the Taliban militia’s Radio Shariat quoted him as saying.

Omar last week ordered his followers to destroy all statues in Afghanistan, including the country’s precious pre-Islamic figures, to prevent idolatry in line with a fatwa from local clerics.

His comments at the start of the three-day Islamic holiday came a day after unesco special envoy Pierre Lafrance apparently failed to persuade the Taliban leadership to reverse their decision.

According to UN officials in neighbouring Pakistan, Mr Lafrance was still in the militia’s southern bastion of Kandahar but it was not known if talks with the Taliban were continuing.

Foreign minister Wakil ahmad mutawakel said after meeting Mr Lafrance in Kandahar yesterday that he could see no reason to stop the destruction, the private afghan Islamic press reported.

Mr Lafrance told CNN that he hoped to meet Mullah Omar after the Id-al-Adha festival.

Several Islamic states, notably Pakistan, have also expressed indignation over the demolition. Pakistan is one of the three countries which recognises the Taliban regime.

Messages from Islamic states and religious leaders have stressed that tolerance for other religions is a basic tenet of Islam.

Taliban officials have said the “work” on the statues is nearly complete, with more than two-thirds of the thousands of historic figures in the country already smashed.

Meanwhile, Afghan Islamic clerics today urged the ruling Taliban’s supreme leader not to bow to international pressure and to push ahead with plans to destroy the statues.

The call was echoed through loudspeakers in most mosques in Kabul on the occasion of the Id-al-Adha festival. AFP, Reuters