International Community in
Afghanistan continues ....

It is important to look at the Muslim reactions in Asia where many Muslims throughout the region protested the American actions, and a widespread strike was attempted in Pakistan to undermine the government’s support for the US war, the Pakistani government moved to full backing of the US following Powell’s mid-October visit when Musharraf was known to have negotiated support in return of debt relief.

On 27 October, thousands of Pakistani fighters gathered to fight a Jehad against the US. The trans-national composition of the Taleban/AlQaeda forces was further revealed when five of their members killed by an American attack on Kabul turned out to be British citizens. In Pakistan, a day later, six masked attackers, thought to be Islamic supporters of AlQaeda, shot dead fifteen Christian worshipers and a policeman at St.Dominic’s Church in Bahawalpur, central Pakistan.

By the end of October, the US troops were known to be operating in support of the Northern Alliance in northern Afghanistan, and by early November, there saw intensified US bombings, including the use of B-52s to assist a major Northern Alliance advance. Al-Jazeera broadcast another declaration by Bin Laden in which he called on Pakistanis to oppose their government and support the Taleban against the US.

The American war efforts seemed to be succeeding as Rumsfeld declared on 4 November that while it still retained local power, the Taleban no longer functioned as a government. The next day, the US military said it was exploring the use of airbases in post-Soviet Central Asia for its bombing missions, while more Northern Alliance forces amassed north of Kabul.

To be continued...