Pakistani Muslim cleric to meet Afghan rulers in effort to avert attacks

Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban said Friday that it has delivered an edict to Osama bin Laden, asking him to voluntarily leave the country. However, in an effort to avert U.S. attacks on Afghanistan, Pakistan will dispatch a delegation of top Islamic leaders to persuade the Taliban to hand over bin Laden, who Washington believes masterminded the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon. Pakistan is sending its most revered cleric to meet with the Taliban’s reclusive leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar. Mullah Mufti Nazamudin Shamazi is held in great esteem by the Taliban. And Omar himself was educated by a disciple of Shamazi. Thus the presence of the aging grand mufti of Pakistan in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar is expected to put pressure on Omar. The Taliban official said Omar would meet Shamazi on Friday. Shamazi operates a well-known religious school near Karachi, where Omar’s own teacher once studied. Shamazi is believed to have continuing influence over the Taliban and Omar. The mufti is also reportedly highly respected by bin Laden. The Taliban, meanwhile, says it has located bin Laden, a Saudi exile who has been living in Afghanistan for five years. Earlier this week, the Afghani rulers said they would ask bin Laden to voluntarily leave the country but did not know where he was. On Thursday, a senior Taliban official said the message to the Saudi exile had been delivered in person, but no reply had yet been received.