Rocket attacks on three buildings representing the U.N. and the United States in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, may very well be attributable to the imposition of sanctions on Afghanistan. The situation is complex, according to PNS commentator Muddassir Rizvi, who spoke to a number of Pakistanis about the attack. Rizvi is a Pakistani journalist specializing in development issues whose work appears in several weekly and monthly publications.

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN--Three rockets fired at U.N. and U.S. buildings here last week may be a by-product of the U.S.-sponsored international embargo on Pakistan's neighbor, Afghanistan.

The U.N. has demanded that the Taliban, the Islamic student militia ruling Afghanistan, turn over Osama Bin Laden, a Saudi, to be tried for his alleged role in the bombing of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya last year. The Taliban has refused, so the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution requiring all states to freeze Taliban's assets abroad and to deny flying rights to any aircraft owned, leased or operated by or for the Taliban. The action has raised fears of retaliation by Islamic groups here and elsewhere.

The Taliban reject the U.N. sanctions as discriminatory and call for discussions with the Clinton administration.

"Washington has failed to provide evidence of Osama's involvement in global terrorism. Osama is our guest and we consider him innocent -- how could we turn him over without any evidence? If proof of his links to terrorism is provided, we will try him in Afghanistan under Islamic laws," commented an Afghan embassy official.

Pakistan also supports such talks. Chief Executive Pervez Musharraf, who led last month's bloodless coup, recently announced that Pakistan would take up the Osama Bin Laden case with the Taliban administration.

Some pro-Taliban groups and religious parties in Pakistan warn against an embargo. "The U.N. and U.S. are scared of an Islamic system and are conspiring against the Taliban government. I call upon the Islamic countries to declare Jihad (holy war) against anti-Islam forces," said Sufi Mohammad, leader of the Movement for the Enforcement of Islam, a party very active in northern Pakistan.

Just two days before the sanctions took effect, this city, the Pakistani capital, was rocked by rockets fired from remote-controlled launchers fitted in three cars -- targeted at U.N. offices, the U.S. Cultural Centre and the U.S. Embassy. The attacks caused only minimal damage and injured one Pakistani security guard, but delivered one very clear message -- all targets are within striking range.

"These attacks were planned by anti-Muslim forces to put military authorities in Pakistan against Islamic groups in the country and the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan," said the spokesperson of Jamiat Ulema Islam (party of the leaders of Islam), a right-wing group that runs hundreds of religious schools and enjoys immense influence with the Afghan rulers.

A more radical faction of this group believed the attacks were meant to pave the way for a U.S. attack on the Taliban.

"It is a conspiracy to malign Taliban and create bad blood between two brotherly countries (Pakistan and Afghanistan)," said the party's information secretary Riaz Durrani. Both pro-Taliban factions blame the Indian intelligence agency RAW for the attacks.

Although no group came forward to claim responsibility, all fingers were pointed at extremist Islamist groups who find refuge in Afghanistan where the Taliban control 90 percent of the territory. "The attacks could be a warning shot by some pro-Taliban group in order to show their strength and keep the U.N. from going ahead with the sanctions," according to one journalist who covers Afghanistan.

Pakistani police rounded up dozens of Afghan nationals. "We launched a swoop on Afghan dwellings in Islamabad and other parts of the country and took into custody suspected people," commented a police official. "Although we do not have proof so far, we believe that it is the handiwork of some Afghan group as a mark of protest to upcoming U.N. sanctions." None of those arrested was formally charged.

A few days before the attacks in Islamabad, pro-Taliban demonstrators chanting "Death to America" stormed U.N. offices in the eastern Afghan city of Kandahar to express their indignation about the sanctions. Similar rallies have been held in other Afghan cities.

Although the U.S. believes sanctions may push the Taliban into subservience, many observers here hold otherwise. "It may well push the Afghans in the opposite direction. During World War II, Kabul refused Allied demands to surrender a group of Germans," said the respected national columnist Nasim Zehra in an article published in a English language newspaper.

"The U.S. advocates talks between India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue, but attacks Afghanistan and Sudan with cruise missiles. Obviously, such moves are seen as a sign that Washington is against Muslim countries. The U.S. should talk the Osama issue out with the monsters it has created -- alienating them will only cause trouble," commented one analyst.

Sanctions can only aggravate the miseries of the people who have learned to improvise during years of war and civil strife. "Such steps have failed to break Libya and Iraq -- certainly they would not force Taliban to succumb to U.S. whims," said a Jamaat-i-Islam worker.