UNITED NATIONS, Nov 11: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said here on Saturday that he could not imagine that Osama bin Laden could be having nuclear weapons, despite the claims he made in an interview carried by Dawn on Saturday.

Speaking at a press conference he said: “It’s not such a thing he can posses safely. It involves nuclear weapons, its trigger mechanism, its delivery system, I can’t imagine him possessing all that.”

However, he added: “Chemical weapons are a possibility. But I have no such information.”

When asked about change in Pakistan’s position vis-a-via the Taliban, President Musharraf said: “One takes action according to the environment and reality on ground.” There was reality on ground that 90 per cent of Afghanistan was controlled by the Taliban. All Taliban were Pakhtoons. Pakistan had a long border with Afghanistan and the reality dictated Pakistan to have relations with the Taliban, he said.

However, he dismissed the general impression that Pakistan army or Pakistan government was giving any material support to the Taliban, saying: “Taliban were created from within, they were indigenous. It is wrong perception that everyone has that Pakistan army and Pakistan government was participating with them. Nothing could be more further from truth.”

“Pakistan was neither equipping them nor do we have the resources to do that,” he added.

Asked about the future role for King Zahir Shah in the future Afghanistan setup, President Musharraf said that if the people of Afghanistan were willing to accept him in the future setup, Pakistan could not have any objection.

But he pointed out that any political dispensation in Afghanistan should be in accordance with the will of the Afghan people and said that any future setup should ensure stability of Afghanistan.

“A broad-based multi-ethnic government in accordance with the demographic composition of Afghanistan should be established,” he added.

Asked about his bilateral meetings with the president of Iran and the Saudi foreign minister, Gen Musharraf said that Iran and Pakistan were the most directly concerned countries in Afghanistan as was Saudi Arabia. He said both leaders emphasized the need to coordinate all actions.

He rejected the point of view that there was any war in Afghanistan and instead preferred it to be called an operation against terrorists, their abettors and their supporters. “Unfortunately it has been projected as a war against the people of Afghanistan, that’s not the case,” he said.

As far as the economic impact of the operation on Pakistan and the report of $2.5 billion losses suffered by Pakistan since Sept 11 attacks on US, Gen Musharraf said: “The $2.5 billion is a projected figure if the action continues our exports could be affected to that amount.”

However, he said: “We are taking up with all other agencies, governments and countries to whom we owe money to ease our economic blow that Pakistan would face.”

He said there had been a positive response. “Let me very gladly say that there is a consciousness of the problems Pakistan would face. I am positive and hopeful that our economy would be helped out.”

On the Kashmir issue which he made centrepiece of his address to the United Nations and talks with the world leaders, Gen Musharraf said: “I think we have been fairly successful in convincing the world that Kashmir is the dispute which needs to be resolved peacefully in accordance with the wishes of the people of Kashmir.”

About his talks with French President Jacque Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, he said we talked about the Kashmir dispute and we gave our point of view.

He asked an Indian journalist who suggested that Pakistan and India were again heading towards confrontation that Indian Diaspora in the United States should ask Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to rethink his position and open talks with Pakistan.