Pakistan's military ruler has admitted that his government's efforts
to persuade the Taleban to change their hard-line stance have failed.
In an interview for the BBC's Hardtalk programme, President Pervez
Musharraf said the militia's days as the ruling force in Afghanistan
were now numbered.
"Because of the stand that the
Taleban have taken... confrontation will take place," he said.
President Musharraf said he was sure Pakistan would be included in
whatever decisions the United States made in relation to Afghanistan's
future.
"We have to see what the action plan is in Afghanistan, and then
we are also concerned with what kind of dispensation there will be in
Afghanistan," he said.
"These are very very critical issues of concern to us, and I'm
reasonably sure that we will be in the loop with the United States to
decide to be taking the decision on these important issues."
Pakistan was until earlier this
month the Taleban's main backer, and is the only country to still
recognise them as the government of Afghanistan.
But President Musharraf said the scenario in Afghanistan had changed
and his government was now re-evaluating its policy towards the country.
He admitted that his efforts to persuade the Taleban to hand over
Osama Bin Laden - America's prime suspect for the terror attacks on New
York and Washington - had not succeeded.
There have been suggestions that the American-backed coalition will
support the opposition Northern Alliance or bring back the former king,
Zahir Shah, to replace the Taleban.
The president said he did not know where Bin Laden was, but he was
sure the Taleban did.
He added that the Saudi-born dissident's supporters in Pakistan were
religious extremists who were in the minority.
He said that despite the current crisis, he was determined to carry
on with his "road map" to restore democracy and hold elections
next year.