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K J M Varma in Islamabad
Taleban's envoy to Pakistan Abdul Salam Zaeef on Friday denied having said that the militia had prepared any ceasefire plan in a bid to end the crisis engulfing Afghanistan and ruled out handing over terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad soon after his return from Kandahar, Zaeef said a Quetta date-lined report quoting him as saying that he carried a ceasefire proposal, which he planned to submit to Pakistan, was "wrong".
"The report is wrong and there is no such proposal," he said, adding that he planned to meet Pakistani officials shortly.
He declined to give details of the issues that he planned to discuss with them.
Zaeef travelled from Kandahar to Quetta by road and later flew into Islamabad by a Pakistan Airlines flight.
He also denied reports of bringing any message from Taleban supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar.
"I did not carry any message from Pakistan to Taleban, nor did I bring any message from the Taleban leader," he said.
Zaeef said he went to Kandahar to hold discussions with Omar and others, as he could not communicate with them over the telephone due to the prevailing war situation.
"There is no change in position," he said.
Zaeef said there was no question of surrendering Laden or member of his Al Qaeda members.
Asked whether he carried any proposal to end the conflict, he said "no", and maintained that the Taleban had actually prepared for a protracted ground war with the United States troops.
He said the Taleban, despite having suffering minor losses, had managed to protect its military assets from the US bombing.
As the news of Zaeef returning with a ceasefire plan spread, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Riaz Mohammad Khan told a media briefing that Islamabad was prepared to listen to the Taleban if it came out with a proposal to end the conflict in Afghanistan.
"Surely, if he has any proposal, we are prepared to listen to him. I do not know the that the ambassador had reached. So far he has not contacted us," he said.
PTI
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