Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf met top military officers on Friday to consider a US request for cooperation in hunting down those responsible for this week's terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, a government spokesman said.
The talks at the Pakistan army's general headquarters in Rawalpindi came a day after the US confirmed for the first time that it regarded Osama bin Laden as a suspect in the investigation into the attacks.
Musharraf has promised the US his full cooperation in the aftermath of the attacks but both governments have refused to reveal details of their discussions.
Pakistani newspapers reported Friday that the US had requested the use of the country's airspace to mount attacks on bin Laden's bases in neighboring Afghanistan.
The government spokesman would only say that Friday's talks, which began at 9.00 am (0400 GMT), would involve a review of the evolving situation.
"The president is chairing the meeting and all the core commanders are there," he said.
Mushararraf's decision to meet with the army top brass rather than his civilian ministers was seen as a sign that the US requests for cooperation had military implications.
A decision to actively cooperate with a US attack on Afghanistan would represent a major departure for Pakistan, one of only three countries to recognise the ruling Taliban militia.
For Musharraf, it would also mean running the risk of a backlash from within his own military establishment and from the public.
Pakistan's military intelligence agency in particular has maintained close links to the Taliban, allegedly providing the militia with technical advice, weapons and supplies.
Islamabad denies this but argues that its strategic interests are served by maintaining close ties with the dominant political force in its perennially unstable western neighbor.
In 1998, a botched US attempt to hit bin Laden's bases with cruise missiles, triggered a wave of protests in Pakistan, some of which erupted into full scale riots.
Some of the missiles, fired over Pakistan from ships in the Arabian sea, landed on Pakistani soil, killing 14 people.
The fallout from the strikes, launched in retaliation for bin Laden's alleged involvement in the two bombing of US embassies in Africa, was worsened by the fact that the Islamabad government was only informed of the attack at the last moment.
Despite the risks involved, Musharaff's tone since Tuesday has implied that he was determined to change the course of Pakistan's policy.
On Thursday he described the attacks on the US as a "heinous crime against humanity" which had elevated the struggle against terrorism to a new level.
Taliban, however, said Friday it expected to be hit by a massive US attack and vowed that it would take revenge.
"We are ready to pay any price to defend ourselves and to use all means to take our revenge," a spokesman for the Islamic militia's supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar told AFP by satellite phone from the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar – (Compiled from AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
