'Pakistan Will Not Support War Against Iraq,' says Pakistani Prime Minister

Pakistan's prime minister Zafarullah Jamali says that his country has decided it will not support war against Iraq. In a televised address to the nation, the Pakistani leader has appealed for more time to find a peaceful solution of the Iraq crisis.

Prime Minister Jamali says that Pakistan has based its position on principles and national interests. But he would not say how his country will vote if a new resolution on Iraq comes before the U.N. Security Council.

"We have taken a decision that it is going to be very difficult for Pakistan to support the war against Iraq," Mr. Jamali said. "This goes in the interest of my country, in the interest of my nation [and] in the interest of my government."

Pakistan is among the six elected members of the U.N. Security Council that are still undecided about how to vote on a U.S.-sponsored resolution seeking authorization for a war on Iraq. Prime Minister Jamali says he hopes that appeals for more time to solve the crisis peacefully will be heard.

"We would not want to see the destruction of the Iraqi people, we would not appreciate the destruction of Iraq as a country," he said. "It is very difficult for any Pakistani to endure that. Hence it is an appeal to the United Nations, to the countries in the world, that more time for peace should be given to Iraq."

Prime Minister Jamali's government fears that an attack on Iraq could to lead to unrest among Pakistan's mainly Muslim population. It has come under increasing pressure from political opponents led by an alliance of Islamic parties to vote against a war on Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis have taken part in anti-war demonstrations in recent days.

Some members of Mr. Jamali's ruling party have indicated that Pakistan will not support a United Nations Security Council resolution seeking to authorize a war on Iraq. They say that Pakistan is likely to abstain from voting on the proposed resolution.

"The bottom line of all protests in Pakistan is that peace should be given a chance and we should not participate in a war against Iraq and that is what the prime minister has said," said Mushahid Hussain, a senator-elect of Prime Minister Jamali's ruling Pakistan Muslim League party. "And that is also my conclusion that Pakistan, if it abstains as seems likely, that will meet the aspiration of the people of Pakistan and also serve the national interest of Pakistan."

Leaders of some Islamic parties, however, say Pakistan should vote no on the resolution, not just abstain.

A draft resolution sponsored by the United States and Britain gives Iraq until next Monday to comply with U.N. demands and give up suspected chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. The security council vote on the proposed resolution is expected later this week.

Pakistan is in a delicate position on the issue. While it opposes the U.S. threat to use force to disarm Iraq, Islamabad has been a close ally of Washington in the war on terror. The United States has supplied Pakistan with considerable aid, and it is a major market for Pakistan's exports, which means Islamabad may be reluctant to directly vote against the United States.

Most Pakistani papers welcome Tuesday's announcement by Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali that his government does not support an attack on Iraq.

But they interpret a possible abstention in any vote on a second UN resolution authorising war with varying shades of enthusiasm.

The Daily Times in Lahore says "recent developments in Pakistan indicate that it would be suicidal for the government to support an attack on Iraq".

"Above all," the paper warns, "such a move would strengthen the resolve of the religious parties to disrupt the functioning of the Jamali government with full public support on the street."

An attack on Iraq will be morally and legally unjust

Dawn
"The Jamali government is in no position to express a clear opinion in favour of war on Iraq for strong domestic reasons," it concludes.

The daily Dawn also highlights the issue of religious sensitivity, pointing out that "Pakistan as a member of the Organisation of Islamic Conference...cannot afford to support any resolution that seeks to inflict further human suffering and devastation on Iraq".

It proclaims "an attack on Iraq will be morally and legally unjust".

'US pressure'

"Ambiguity on Iraq," is the headline of a sceptical editorial in the daily, The Nation.

The paper believes that "though there is obvious relief that Islamabad has steered away from the path of total submission to Washington, most people would consider this stand unclear".

It is unbecoming for a country like Pakistan to show impartiality on the issue of aggression against Iraq

Mashriq
It says "the public will justifiably perceive that Islamabad is keeping its options open", adding "in which case it remains exposed and vulnerable to US pressure".

It says that while the decision "should be welcomed for its passive resistance to US pressure, it has to be stated that it is below public expectations".

The paper, however, believes that "an abstention being more or less a vote against, [the government] might as well say 'no' if and when it comes to a vote in the Security Council".

The moderate daily Mashriq agrees, warning that "it is unbecoming for a country like Pakistan to show impartiality on the issue of aggression against Iraq".

'Quite right'

The daily Express is more supportive in its interpretation, saying that "Pakistan's decision not to take part in the voting on a UN Security Council resolution, is quite right from every dimension".

In case of any war on Iraq, Pakistan's economy would come under fire and would face great damage

Al-Akhbar
The daily Khabrain also believes that Pakistan should not "blindly follow the US agenda".

"In that situation... along with the US, our country would also be a victim of isolation in the comity of world nations," the paper says.

And finally, the fundamentalist daily Al-Akhbar turns its attention to the economic consequences of the war, asserting that "in case of any war on Iraq, Pakistan's economy would come under fire and would face great damage".

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2843413.stm

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