Taleban to allow access to detainees

No one has been allowed to visit the aid workers so far

Afghanistan's ruling Taleban militia have said they will allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit eight foreigners accused of spreading Christianity.

The Taleban had previously said they would not allow anyone to see the aid workers, who have been detained since early August, until their investigations were complete.

Whenever [the ICRC] contact us we will be ready to allow them to visit these people

Taleban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil

Meanwhile, the parents of two American women who are among those detained have appealed for visas from the Taleban militia to visit their loved ones, US embassy sources said on Thursday.

In another development, the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, said a new strategy was needed to end the long-running conflict in Afghanistan.

He said that in place of sanctions, the warring parties should be offered incentives to join peace negotiations.

No objection

Taleban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil said on Thursday that the Taleban had no objection to a visit by International Red Cross representatives to the detainees.

Diplomats did manage to hand over supplies while in Kabul

"We have no problem. They (the ICRC representatives) can see them any time," he told Reuters by telephone from the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.

However, International Red Cross officials in Pakistan said they had so far received no reply from the Taleban to a request they had made to visit the detainees.

The parents of the two Americans have travelled to Pakistan, where they have applied for visas at the Taleban embassy.

They hope to be allowed to see their daughters who, along with six other foreigners - two Australians and four Germans - and 16 Afghans, have now been detained incommunicado for three weeks.

There is no word yet on whether the ICRC will also be allowed to see the Afghan detainees.

The Taleban have said the detainees, who were working for a German-based relief agency called Shelter Now International, are in good health and are being well cared for.

Personal plea

Three Western diplomats returned to Pakistan on Tuesday after being denied consular access.

But it is possible a personal plea from family members may carry more weight than diplomatic requests, says the BBC Afghanistan correspondent Kate Clark.

Mr Annan's new strategy includes incentives to discuss peace

In Afghanistan, it is customary for family members to press for the release of their relatives in detention.

But this case has been different, as family members of the Afghan detainees have also been denied access, which indicates how serious this case is for the Taleban, says our correspondent.

The Taleban authorities have said the group will be put on trial according to Islamic Sharia law.

If found guilty, the foreign aid staff are likely to be sentenced to prison terms and deportation, while the Afghan workers could face execution.

Ending the conflict

In a new report, Mr Annan has proposed that the UN Security Council could entertain a more constructive approach to Afghanistan, based on the idea that decades of instability will end only when civilians can decide freely on their government.

Sanctions are seen by many Security Council members as doing little to encourage political negotiations or end the misery of war for civilians.

One plan proposed in the report would involve large scale aid for post-war reconstruction. It also stresses that the legitimate interests of Afghanistan's neighbours must be secured.