The United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic relations with the Taliban government of Afghan-istan yesterday, leaving it recognized by only two nations.
The official Emirates News Agency quoted an unidentified Foreign Ministry official as saying that the Emirates had tried during the past few days to persuade the Taliban to comply with the UN Security Council resolution for it to hand over Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in last week's terror attacks in New York and Washington.
The official expressed regret that the Taliban had failed to respond positively.
"The United Arab Emirates does not believe that it is possible to continue to maintain diplomatic relations with a government that refuses to respond to the clear will of the international community," the official said.
The decision to cut relations takes immediate effect, the agency reported.
The move throws the spotlight on Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, which are the only remaining countries to recognize the Taliban, a movement of hard-line Islamic militia that seized power in 1996.
The United Arab Emirates followed its big neighbor Saudi Arabia in granting recognition to the Taliban.
Most countries recognize the government-in-exile of President Burhanuddin Rabbani, whose forces control only 5 percent of Afghanistan.
The Emirates has no diplomatic representation in Kabul, the Afghan capital. The Taliban has an embassy in Abu Dhabi headed by charge d'affaires Aziz Ul-Rahman Abdul Ahad.
A secretary at the Afghan Embassy in Abu Dhabi said yesterday the mission had not been informed of the Emirates' decision. The secretary declined to give his name.
An Emirates Foreign Ministry official said Abdul Ahad would be summoned to the ministry to be told that relations were broken. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
On Sept. 18 -- seven days after the terror attacks on the US -- the UN Security Council issued a statement calling on the Taliban to implement a resolution made December last year "immediately and unconditionally."
The resolution demanded that the Taliban turn over bin Laden to the US or a third country for trial in the deadly bombings of two US embassies in Africa in August 1998. It also required that the Taliban stop providing sanctuary for international terrorists, take measures to ensure that its territory is not used to prepare terrorist acts and close all terrorist training camps.
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