Pakistani Taliban militant offers refuge for bin Laden

Wana (Pakistan), Apr 20: A pro-Taliban Pakistani tribal leader,who was backed by the Pakistan army in a campaign to evict CentralAsian al Qaeda-linked fighters from tribal lands, said today he wouldprovide refuge to Osama bin Laden.

Mullah Nazir said he had never met fugitive al Qaeda leader, butwas ready to protect him in South Waziristan tribal region, near theAfghan border, for the cause of ''oppressed people''.

''If he comes here and wants to live according to tribaltraditions, then we can provide protection to him because we supportoppressed people,'' Nazir told journalists in Wana, the main town ofSouth Waziristan.

The whereabouts of the world's most-wanted man, who carries a 25million dollar bounty on his head, has remained a mystery since theSeptember 11 al Qaeda attacks on the United States in 2001. He iswidely believed to be hiding somewhere in tribal lands on the borderbetween Pakistan and Afghanistan.

His long silence has fuelled speculation that he may have died,though many in the international intelligence community reckon Islamistmilitant Web sites would circulate word of his death.

The most recent videotape of bin Laden was in late 2004 --subsequent tapes released were identified as old footage -- and aroundhalf a dozen audio tapes were circulated in the first half of 2006.

Thousands of al Qaeda-linked foreign fighters, including Uzbeks,Chechens and Arabs, fled to Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal lands onthe Afghan border after US-led forces defeated the Taliban in 2001.

The militants were given refuge by the Pashtun tribes that straddle the border.

But relations broke down after tribesmen, with the tacit supportof the Pakistan military, turned against the militants in March afterthey tried to kill a tribal elder.

Around 300 foreign militants and up to 40 tribal fighters, led byMullah Nazir and backed by the army, have been killed in clashes inrecent weeks.

Dead or Alive?

The foreign militants were believed to have beencommanded by Tahir Yuldashev, head of Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, agroup that became linked to the al Qaeda network while in Afghanistan.

Nazir, 32, and married with a son and a daughter, announced anamnesty for foreigners and their local supporters if they surrendered,but warned that fighters loyal to Yuldashev would not be spared.

He said Uzbek fighters were reported crying over the death of oneof their leaders but he was not sure whether it was Yuldashev.

Yuldashev, known as Qari for reciting the Koran in a beautifulvoice, has been on the run since Pakistani security forces launched amajor offensive on his stronghold in South Waziristan in 2003.

After unsuccessful military campaigns to clear al Qaeda nests fromWaziristan, the Pakistan government made pacts with the tribesmen inthe hope of driving a wedge between them and the foreign fighters.

Critics say the pacts risked creating a sanctuary for al Qaeda andthe Taliban, but Pakistani officials said the clashes in SouthWaziristan showed the strategy was working.

Nazir ducked a question that whether he was sending militantsacross the border into Afghanistan but said he did go to Afghanistanbecause he had dual nationality.

''I have a house in Bermal and have some agriculture land inKandahar,'' he said, referring to border areas in eastern and southernAfghanistan. ''When I go there, I side with the Taliban.''

Reuters