The Taleban leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, has cancelled holidays for his militiamen and officials during the Eid festival to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadanin Afghanistan.

Taleban-controlled Shariat radio said Mullah Omar has ordered all the officers and soldiers not to leave their posts during the Eid festival and the remaining days of Ramadan.

The statement gave no reason for the ban, only saying that the state needed their services.

Eid and other religious occasions are normally declared official holidays in Afghanistan.

Correspondents say the move comes at a time when the Taleban are under pressure from the opposition forces headed by Commander Ahmad Shah Masood, which are based about twenty-five kilometres north of the capital Kabul.