Taliban support high near Afghan border

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Many Pakistanis living near the Afghan border say they are ready to join a holy war against America, and possibly their own government, if the United States attacks Afghanistan. \nAt mosques, in shops and on the streets of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province, people are expressing deep anger at the idea of a Pakistani-supported strike in retaliation for last week's terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. \nReligious leaders called for a general strike and street protests Friday to oppose military action. \n"America is putting a gun on Pakistan's shoulder to fire at Afghanistan. The Pakistani people cannot accept this," said Haji Abdul Razzaq, 50, the owner of an auto parts store in the western city of Peshawar, about an hour's drive from the Afghan border. \nIf American troops set foot in Peshawar, "the people will suck their blood," declared laborer Wazir Khan. \nAfghanistan's Taliban leaders on Tuesday warned of a possible U.S. military attack and urged Afghans to prepare for a jihad, or holy war, against the United States. \nPakistan has pledged "full support" to the United States in the event of a strike against Afghanistan, an event that appears likely because of the safe haven that the Taliban have given to Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States. \nIf Pakistan's support includes allowing U.S. ground troops to use its soil, as has been suggested, those troops can expect to encounter widespread hostility in places like Peshawar. \nThe U.S. State Department issued a warning about travel to Pakistan late Monday. It advised Americans to consider their safety before going to the country and not to enter tribal areas of the Northwest Frontier Province. \nPakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has been trying to rally his countrymen around his pro-Washington stance in meetings with top religious and political leaders. But he has yet to win the backing of people in areas closest to Afghanistan. \nThe local branch of Jamiat Ulema Islam, a major pro-Taliban political party, held a meeting of about 100 members in Peshawar on Tuesday to urge authorities not to participate in an assault against Afghanistan. \n"The reaction of the general public will be extremely severe" if there is a Pakistani-supported assault, said Abdul Jalil Jan, the branch's deputy director. \nParty delegates and many others in Peshawar said they condemn last week's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. But they said they believe the Israelis staged them in an effort to whip up anti-Muslim sentiment. \nAt a news conference in Peshawar on Tuesday, the Northwest Frontier Province's information minister, Syed Imtiaz Gilani, said Musharraf's meetings with political and religious leaders are meant to check anti-U.S. feelings and misunderstandings about his government's policies. \n"We are trying to talk to everyone, trying to make them understand that this is an issue for the whole country. It is not factional. It is not tribal"