AFGHANISTAN - Sept. 20 - Theologians Urge Bin Ladin To Leave & Call For Jihad If The US Attacks.

At the end of a 2-day meeting of almost 1,000 religious leaders, a council of senior Islamic theologians recommends that the Taliban persuade Osama Bin Ladin to leave the country, saying that he should be encouraged to leave "in the proper time and of his own free will". (Although they do not set a deadline for Bin Ladin to depart, the decision is the first time Afghan leaders have distanced themselves from Bin Ladin. The theologians' recommendation was conveyed to the Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar who is to decide whether to pass the message to Bin Ladin. But US officials, who have called for Bin Ladin's unconditional surrender, quickly rejected the overture as insufficient. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said: "It does not meet America's requirements". He said Bin Ladin and other figures living in Afghanistan who are suspected of being members of Al Qaida must be surrendered to "responsible authorities". He added: "It's time for action, not words". Dozens of US warplanes were dispatched to the Gulf on Sept. 19, and three US aircraft carriers are operating in the region). The theologians also say they would call for a jihad if the US attacks the country. They say: "If a powerful country attacks a weak country, it is a jihad for all Muslims". They ask for the UN and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, a body of 52 Muslim nations, to investigate allegations against Bin Ladin. (The decision to urge Bin Ladin to leave appears to be a compromise between hardline theologians ready to go to war to defend Bin Ladin and those who want to prevent a US attack. Mohammed Naseer, one of the theologians, said: "We wanted to find a solution that would save our country and solve the problem of our guest". Providing shelter to those who ask for it is a centuries-old tradition in the country, one that people of Pashtun ethnicity, who are predominant in the Taliban, believe they are required to uphold even if it means risking their lives.

Pakistani FM Abdus Sattar said: "Given Afghanistan's cultural traditions, asking a guest to leave is a very significant step, but not a giant one". He urged that the decision "be given due weight". But diplomats and analysts said the theologians' request was implausible. It is difficult to imagine any nation agreeing to accept Bin Ladin, because it would almost certainly result in political and economic isolation. Pakistani journalist and political analyst Rahimullah Yusufzai said: "He can't go anywhere. He will be arrested the moment he enters Iran or Pakistan or any other neighbouring country". The theologians said nothing about what would be done with the hundreds of people in Afghanistan, many of them members of the Taliban, who are accused by the US of being part of Bin Ladin's alleged network. Rifaat Hussain, a professor of strategic and defence studies at Quaid-I-Azam University in Islamabad, said: "The Taliban cannot simply dissociate themselves from him". Analysts said Mullah Omar's Sept. 17 decision to convene the meeting of theologians was probably a delaying tactic to give his military time to prepare for a US attack. An Asian diplomat in Islamabad said: "This is clearly a stalling move. They are not serious about having him leave". But conservative Muslim groups in Pakistan said they were relieved by the theologians' statement. The leader of the Pakistan Muslim League Raja Zafar ul-Haq said: "Now it is America's turn to take a wise decision and save the region from catastrophe. There is no longer any justification for military action").