December 7, 2001	Friday	Ramazan 21, 1422

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 6: Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said on Thursday the Bonn agreement would pave the way for early establishment of peace and normalcy in Afghanistan and bring the early prospects of return of the Afghan refugees to their homes.

Speaking at a joint press conference along with OIC Secretary-General Abdelouahed Belkeziz, the foreign minister said Pakistan would fully support the interim administration in its efforts for national reconciliation and rebuilding Afghanistan.

Mr Sattar said Pakistan would establish links with the administration in Afghanistan as soon as it is installed.

The minister, however, said that Pakistan would not undertake “forced repatriation” of the refugees whose number in the country had cross three million mark.

Earlier, during meeting with President Gen Pervez Musharraf, the OIC secretary-general lauded “the courageous and wise decision” taken by the President to join the US-led operation against terrorism and said the decision was also in the interest of the Islamic world.

The foreign minister in his prepared statement said: “It is our common hope that Afghanistan will now see peace and stability, and that the world community would extend help to the Afghan people with reconstruction and development of the war-ravaged nation.

‘‘The OIC has an important role in this endeavour.”

While referring to the mandated multilateral force for Kabul, the foreign minister said while Pakistan favoured non-inclusion of forces from Afghanistan’s neighbouring states in the proposed force, it would be willing to play a role in it if requested by the interim Afghan administration.

The joint statement of the foreign minister and the OIC secretary-general referring to major flare up this week in Palestine, stated: “We are gravely concerned over the latest escalation in violence by Israel in Palestine and the condemnable attack on the headquarters of President Yasser Arafat.”

An extraordinary meeting of the foreign minister is scheduled to discuss the latest situation in Palestine in Doha on coming Monday, Mr Sattar stated.

The statement further said: “We have emphasized the need for the international community to put pressure on Israel to return to dialogue and respect its agreements with the Palestinian leadership requiring the implementation of the relevant UN resolutions and the establishment of a Palestinian State with Al-Quds as its capital.”

However, the statement rejected the “targeting of any Organization of Islamic Conference member state under the pretext of fighting terrorism”.