The Pakistani president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, announced here today that a delegation of Pakistani officials would fly to the Taliban's headquarters in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar Monday to renew demands that the militia surrender Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden. U. S. officials have named bin Laden, who has been given shelter by the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan, as the prime suspect in Tuesday's terrorist attacks in Washington and New York. 'We are aware of the gravity of the situation and know that in the lives of, nations, such situations do arise that require making important decisions,' Musharraf said at a meeting with Pakistani newspaper editors. The Taliban's leader, Mohammad Omar, has refused to give up bin Laden, claiming he is not responsible for the U. S. attacks. 'The Pakistan government is leaning on the Taliban government to hand over Osama to save this entire region from catastrophe,' said Najam Sethi, editor of the weekly newspaper Friday Times, who participated in the meeting with Musharraf. 'I am not sure whether there is much chance of that happening, but the pressure is on from the Pakistan government.' Pakistan has been a key supporter of the Taliban, which controls more than 90 percent of Afghanistan and has enforced a strict interpretation of Islamic law in the country. Omar, the Taliban leader, today convened an emergency meeting of clerics (圣职人员) in the Afghan capital, Kabul. 'As regards the possible attack by America on the sacred soil of Afghanistan, veteran honorable clerics should come to Kabul for a sharia decision,' Omar said in a statement broadcast on the Taliban's Radio Shariat today. Sharia is Islamic law. Omar, who reportedly left Ms Kandahar headquarters several days ago in anticipation of a U. S. attack, asked Afghans to pray and read the Koran to meet what he called a 'test', according to the statement. He indicated he would not attend the meeting of clerics, though he reportedly met with a small group of senior clerics today. The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press reported today it had received a statement from Bin Laden, dispathed by an aide from an undisclosed location in Afghanistan, in which he denied involvement in last week's attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. 'I am residing in Afghanistan,' the statement said. 'I have taken an oath of allegiance to Omar, which does not allow me to do such things from Afghanistan. We have been blamed in the past, but we were not involved.' What is the mission of the delegation of Pakistani officials to Afghanistan?