The Security Council had given the Taleban thirty days to hand over the Saudi dissident, Osama Bin Laden, accused by Washington of the twin bombings of American embassies in 1998 in Kenya and in Tanzania.

In his first reaction to the enforcement of the sanctions, Maulavi Motevakel told the Americans they can forget about getting Mr. Bin laden.

Speaking at a press conference in Qandehar, Mr. Motevakel also called on the people of Afghanistan to remain calm and take no action against UN and international agencies personnel working in the war-torn Afghanistan.

Nevertheless, as the situation in Kabul and other major Afghan cities under the control of Taleban were reported calm for the second running day, the United Nations had withdrawn half of its staff from Afghanistan and shut all its offices throughout the country, ravaged by more than 20 years of war.

Eyewitnesses told Iran Press Service that there had been no demonstration across the country against neither the United Nations nor even the Americans, observing that Taleban supreme leader Mollah Mohammad Omar had restrained the population not to stage any rally against the UN.

Afghan defectors to the Taleban said veteran commander Ahmad Shah Mas’ud had been armed by the Russians with T-62, T52, T-55 tanks and 135 milimetres long-range canons.

"American sanctions are the result of its arrogance vis-a-vis the hapless people of Afghanistan, and are not tenable under international and human rights principles. These sanctions will have direct bearing on the people and their lives", the Foreign Minister latter told the Pakistani daily "The News".

He said the Taliban had offered three possible solutions to the United States to resolve the Osama issue: To try bin Laden for his alleged involvement in terrorist activities in Afghanistan, or decide his fate through ulemas of Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and another Islamic country or to place him under a committee of Organisation of Islamic Countries to monitor his activities. "All the three options unfortunately fell on deaf ears", Mr. Motevakel observed.

Asked whether Taleban would agree to Bin Laden's trial in a third country, Wakil Ahmad made it clear they would never agree to a trial in an non-Muslim country. "Islam does not allow us to do that." He, however, said modalities and finer points of a possible agreement could have been worked out, had the United States accepted any of the offers.

The Taleban and their Pakistani backers are angry about what they see as an attack on the Afghan nation and on Islam itself.

Pakistan officials said they would abide by the resolution, but at the same made it clear they would prefer to see a rapid solution to the problem.

Despite the fact that they control more than 90 per cent of the Afghan territory, the Taleban are recognised only by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.

Taleban, made of lumpen militant Islamists, are also accused of brutality against Afghan people, mostly women, who are completely segregated.

In its latest statement, the UN accused Taleban for the killing of at least 100 civilians, including humanitarian workers, in the district of Yakawlang.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan deplored the killings and demanded the Taleban to "take immediate steps to control their forces".

He called for a "prompt investigation," and urged that those responsible be brought to justice."

He said to have received many reports of civilians in Yakawlang district being deliberately attacked and killed.

Yakawlang has been under Taleban control since 1998, but was briefly captured by opposition troops late last year before being retaken by the Taleban.

The UN says the killing of civilians took place when the Taleban recaptured the district, but the Taleban has denied the allegations, saying it has the support of civilians in the area.