UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan this evening said Afghanistan's ruling Taliban had confirmed virtually all Afghanistan's historic statues had been destroyed in what he termed a disservice to themselves and Islam.
"I did discuss the statues with the foreign minister and I walked away from the meeting not very encouraged," Mr Annan said.
"Basically he confirmed that all movable statues have been destroyed and the destruction of the two statues (of Buddha in Bamiyan) had begun but he could not tell me the status of the demolition," Mr Annan said. "I had hoped for much better news."
A Taliban spokesman in Kandahar said demolition of the two giant Buddhas near Bamiyan, which towered 53 meters (175 feet) and 38 meters, continued today after being about 80 per cent complete yesterday.
"The destruction of Afghanistan's heritage - most of it dating from the Buddhist period nearly 2,000 years ago - was bound to make it more difficult to raise aid for the impoverished country," Mr Annan said, urging donors to remember that the aid is not aimed at the rulers.
Mr Annan, who arrived in Pakistan yesterday at the start of a regional tour, expressed concern about the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, where drought and war have driven hundreds of thousands of people from their homes in the past year.