News

DATE=8/25/98 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-237634 TITLE=PAKISTAN BHUTTO (L) BYLINE=DOUGLAS BAKSHIAN DATELINE=ISLAMABAD CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: FORMER PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER BENAZIR BHUTTO SAYS HER COUNTRY'S OFFICIAL POLICY OF NEUTRALITY IN THE AFGHAN CIVIL WAR MAY HAVE BEEN UNDERMINED BY GROUPS WITHIN PAKISTAN. CORRESPONDENT DOUGLAS BAKSHIAN REPORTS FROM ISLAMABAD. TEXT: AT A NEWS CONFERENCE IN THE PAKISTANI CAPITAL, MRS. BHUTTO CALLED FOR AN INVESTIGATION INTO PERSISTENT CHARGES PAKISTAN HAS SUPPORTED THE TALEBAN MOVEMENT WITH ARMS AND TRAINING. IRAN, RUSSIA, AND AFGHAN OPPOSITION FORCES HAVE REPEATEDLY ACCUSED PAKISTAN'S POWERFUL INTER-SERVICES-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, THE I-S-I, OF INVOLVEMENT WITH THE TALEBAN. MRS. BHUTTO SAYS SHE DOES NOT KNOW IF THIS IS TRUE, BUT SOME KIND OF PROBE SHOULD BE HELD. // BHUTTO ACT // I DO NOT KNOW WHETHER IT WAS THE I-S-I. I DO NOT KNOW WHETHER THERE ARE OTHER PARAMILITARY GROUPS FROM MADRASSAS WHO WERE ACTING UPON THEIR OWN. WHAT I AM CALLING UPON PAKISTAN TO DO NOW IS TO HOLD AN INQUIRY AS TO WHY THERE IS A PERCEIVED DICHOTOMY (CONTRADICTION) BETWEEN THE POLICY ANNOUNCED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN AND THE GROUND REALITIES AS PERCEIVED BY OUR NEIGHBORS. // END ACT // THE MADRASSAS MRS. BHUTTO REFERRED TO ARE RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS RUN BY RIGHT WING ISLAMIC PARTIES IN PAKISTAN. ISLAMABAD HAS ACKNOWLEDGED SOME RELIGIOUS PARTIES, ACTING ON THEIR OWN, HAVE SENT PEOPLE INTO AFGHANISTAN TO FIGHT FOR THE TALEBAN. BUT ISLAMABAD DENIES OFFICIAL INVOLVEMENT OF ITS MILITARY OR SECURITY AGENCIES WITH THE TALEBAN. THE TALEBAN MOVEMENT APPEARED ON THE SCENE IN 1994 WHEN MRS. BHUTTO WAS IN POWER. PAKISTAN IS ONE OF THE THREE COUNTRIES, ALONG WITH SAUDI ARABIA AND THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, THAT RECOGNIZES THE TALEBAN GOVERNMENT. (SIGNED) NEB/DB/LTD/RAE 25-Aug-98 12:02 PM EDT (1602 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .