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Arun Mohanty in Moscow
A number of Pakistani soldiers have been taken prisoners by the Northern Alliance during the fighting with Taleban forces, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Wednesday.
"Pakistan armymen were fighting on the side of the Taleban till last week," Ivanov was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.
"The Northern Alliance has taken a number of Pakistani prisoners of war till now," Ivanov was quoted as saying in Bruxelles, where he is attending a conference of NATO defence ministers.
"We extended assistance to the Northern Alliance because Pakistan was openly supporting the Taleban," he said, adding that Pakistan had changed its policy toward the Taleban only last week.
Russia is ready to increase military assistance to Northern Alliance, Ivanov said. "We have been constantly extending support to the Northern Alliance ever since 1996 and that policy has started yielding results. We will continue that assistance and would even increase it," Ivanov emphasised.
Ivanov's statement comes on the heels of Russian President Vladimir Putin's first public statement that Moscow would provide military assistance to the Northern Alliance.
Talking about the relations between the Taleban and Osama bin Laden, Ivanov said the two were "intrinsically linked" and it was difficult to separate them.
"They are one and the same," Ivanov said, pointing out that just two months ago, bin Laden was appointed the general inspector of the Taleban, a post equivalent to that of defence minister.
"So their close relations are very obvious," he said.
Indo-Asian News Service
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