Afghanistan's designated new leader, Mr Hamid Karzai, said today he would hand over Taliban leaders and their foreign allies to international justice.
Mr Hamid Karzai said he had given an amnesty to rank-and-file Taliban but that there would be no escape for the militia's top leaders and foreign fighters loyal to the Taliban or Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
"We have the strictest measures against them and we will hand them to international justice, he said by satellite telephone. We began this fight against terrorism to free my country from the brutality that terrorists commit against the Afghan people and the Afghan soil," Mr Karzai said.
"We are absolutely committed to make them stand trial and face justice. They must pay for their crimes." He said that Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and his aides must face trial.
Mr Hamid Karzai, who reached a deal with the Taliban yesterday for the peaceful handover of the militia's last bastion of Kandahar, said he could not confirm the surrender had actually begun.
"For the higher-ranking Taliban, if there is a case against them they must face trial," he said.
"It [a trial] is for all those who committed crimes, including him [Mullah Omar]. He has not made even a statement regretting what he has done. If he is found, he must face trial".
Mr Karzai said he hoped the Taliban were giving up their guns. "I hope the transfer of power has begun in Kandahar. I hope it will be orderly and peaceful," he said.