KABUL (Islamweb & News Agencies) - Afghanistan's ruling Taliban rejected any extension of visas for Western diplomats who have been in Kabul in a futile effort to see eight foreign aid workers accused of promoting Christianity, an Afghan news agency said on Saturday.The report by the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP), which followed a U.N. warning that the Taliban were violating international law, pointed toward a deepening of the confrontation over the arrests of the aid workers.
The three diplomats from the United States, Germany and Australia were told before traveling to Kabul that they would not have access to their citizens, but had gone to press their demands directly with Taliban officials.
The diplomats later said they have not yet been officially told that their visa extension request has been rejected. Their visas will expire on August 21. (Read photo caption below)
They said they were hopeful that the Taliban would extend their stay in Kabul.
German diplomat Helmut Landes said the United Nations had been in touch with the Taliban on their behalf to get the visa extensions. ``They will tell us on Monday,'' he said.
The Taliban had suggested the diplomats return to Islamabad while an investigation into charges of proselytizing continue.
Conversion by a Muslim or seeking to covert a Muslim can carry the death penalty under the Taliban's strict interpretation of Islamic law.
The Taliban have been holding four Germans, two Australians and two Americans -- along with 16 Afghan colleagues -- from the German-based Christian relief agency Shelter Now International for two weeks.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Taliban on Friday they were in violation of international law for denying legal or consular representation to the foreign aid workers.
He also warned that the detention of aid workers could have ''severe consequences'' on humanitarian assistance at a time when Afghans are suffering from drought and the protracted civil war.
The Taliban, who espouse a purist form of Islam, are also investigating the U.N. World Food Program and other agencies for ties to proselytizing. The WFP provides food used in a wide range of food-for-work projects run by other organizations battling poverty in Afghanistan.
PHOTO CAPTION:
German Diplomat Helmut Landes(R) along with American Diplomat, David Donahue (2nd R) speak to the Afghanistan reporters at the United Nation's staff house in Kabul, August 18, 2001. Afghanistan's ruling Taliban rejected any extension of visas for Western diplomats who have been in Kabul in a futile effort to see eight foreign aid workers accused of promoting Christianity. (Mian Khursheed/Reuters)