70 Pakistanis killed in Kunduz: Report
MOSCOW: At least 70 Pakistanis are reported to have been killed in the Afghan town of Kunduz, one of the last Taliban bastions to fall to the Northern Alliance.

The Pakistanis, who were held as prisoners of war by the Northern Alliance forces in a school compound in the town, were killed as result of US bombing, reports Russian news agency Ria-Novosti.

The school building was completely destroyed as a result of US bombing and missile attack, said the report.

In another incident, several dozen Pakistanis are reported to have been killed in a jail in Mazar-i-Sharif.

The Pakistanis were with Taliban soldiers who were taken as prisoners of war near Mazar-i-Sharif and were killed when they tried to organise armed resistance against the security forces. More than 165 prisoners of war have reportedly died in the incident.

In yet another incident, several hundred Pakistani volunteers, fighting with the Taliban militia, have been arrested near Kabul and Bagram air base. These Pakistanis, belonging to extremist religious organisations like Takhrik Nifaz Shariyat-e-Mohamedi were hiding in caves, said Ria-Novosti report.

Pakistani authorities have been were strongly pleading before the international community for getting a safe passage for taking its citizens out of Afghanistan in the wake of Taliban retreat.

Soldiers and officers of Pakistan's regular army, members of its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and extremist religious organisations are reported to be fighting on the side of Taliban militia against the Northern Alliance, which captured Kabul last month.

"The latest incidents provide additional evidence of Pakistani army's massive involvement in the inter-Afghan fight on the side of the Taliban regime and terror suspect Osama Bin Laden's outfit Al Qaida," said Professor Victor Krashelsikov from Moscow's prestigious Institute of World Economy and International Relations.
( IANS )

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