*Note this article was written prior to the events of 11^th September 2001.

The UN wants to cut off the Taleban's arms supply

A committee of United Nations experts is in Pakistan to scrutinise the arms embargo against the Taleban in neighbouring Afghanistan. The embargo was imposed in January, one of a number of measures aimed at persuading the Taleban to hand over the Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden for trial in the United States. The visit of the committee is the first move by the UN to look at how the embargo could be monitored. The experts are also in Pakistan to determine how to scrutinise training camps for foreign militants inside Afghanistan, which the UN Security Council has ordered closed.

It has been widely criticised for being one-sided, a measure which eaves the opposition still free to buy arms. Even those who support the embargo wonder whether it can ever be implemented, or whether it was just an empty gesture. Problems start with the nature of the Pakistan-Afghan border - it is 2,500km long, much of it cutting through deserts and mountains. The resolution itself is vague, saying only that a committee of experts should be appointed to make recommendations on how the embargo could be monitored. There has not been any suggestion of posting UN monitors. The resolution appears to leave the monitoring to member states, presumably to the intelligence agencies of the more active supporters of sanctions, such as the US.

It is widely assumed that the Taleban get their weapons and ammunition from Pakistan, who are their main backers. Islamabad has always denied this, and no evidence of any arms supply across the border has ever been published. Even so, pressure against Pakistan has been mounting. Reports have suggested that France and Russia were considering a joint resolution against Pakistan. That was officially denied but the reports appear to be a warning to Islamabad that they may have to pay a price for their continuing support of the Taleban. 

Monday, 16 April, 2001, 14:34 GMT 15:34 UK