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'Don't take Kabul', Pakistan tells Alliance

Alliance forces
Some Alliance forces have already entered the capital of Kabul  

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan has called on Afghan opposition forces to remain on the outskirts of the capital Kabul.

In Pakistan's first reaction to Kabul's fall from Taliban control, Foreign Ministry spokesman Aziz Khan said the "Northern Alliance forces must not occupy Kabul."

Islamabad also called for the capital to be placed under U.N. control, with a peacekeeping force to keep order in a "demilitarized" city.

Islamabad's comments come as the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance began moving into the outskirts of Kabul after the ruling Taliban abandoned the city.

While the bulk of the opposition forces remain on the northern outskirts, CNN's Mathew Chance has said that some police forces had entered the city.

The Taliban forces are believed to be heading south toward their stronghold Kandahar.

The United States has urged the alliance to stay out of the city while the United Nations seeks to cobble together a post-Taliban government.

"One would hope they are listening to what the international community has asked them to do," Kahn told the press conference on Tuesday.

'Situation is fluid'

Alliance forces
The Alliance forces have gained vast swathes of Afghanistan in recent days  

The move on Kabul is putting pressure on Pakistan, which is wary of seeing a repeat of the bloodshed that occurred when the alliance ruled Kabul.

"We feel the sooner the fighting comes to a stop, the sooner the political process starts, the better it can be," Kahn said.

Worried about the number of small ethnic groups that make up the Northern Alliance, to which it has no ties, Islamabad said it was keen to create a multi-ethnic government under the auspices of the United Nations.

Pakistan has long supported the Taliban and is the only country that recognizes the regime as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan.

Kahn did not rule out a future role for the Taliban in a new government although he did add that the "situation was fluid."

"The position of Pakistan is that all Afghans who wish to participate in a broad based multiethnic government under U.N. auspices should be allowed to participate."

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has been on a trip to New York to the United Nations. He is due to return to Pakistan Tuesday night and has been kept aware of the changing situation in Afghanistan.

No talks have been scheduled between Pakistan and the Northern Alliance but Islamabad has talked with the opposition forces before "and have no hesitation to talk to them in the future."


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