October 18, 2002	Friday	Sha'aban 11, 1423

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UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17: Calling for peaceful resolution of all Security Council mandates on Iraq, Pakistan on Wednesday said that the credibility of UN Security Council should be established across the board including implementation of its resolution on Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking at the open meeting of the Security Council on the Iraqi crisis, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations, Munir Akram, said: “It is essential, that the credibility of the United Nations be established not only in the case of Iraq but also in other instances, where the resolutions of the UN Security Council remain to be implemented, such as in Jammu & Kashmir.”

He stressed that “those states which are in occupation of foreign territories and suppressing the right of peoples to self-determination not be further encouraged in their aggressive policies such as the case of Israeli occupation of Palestinian and Arab territories and Indian occupation of Jammu & Kashmir;”

On the implementation of Iraq resolutions, Mr Akram, however, warned that , article 42 of the UN charter “does not provide the authority to one or more member states to resort to force unilaterally and on their own judgment independently of the Security Council, or without its explicit approval.”

Nation after nation lined up in the debate before the UN Security Council to warn Washington against military action as the Bush administration prepared to submit a new draft UN resolution that would authorize force.

Every nation from around the world advocated that UN arms inspectors be given a chance to search for weapons of mass destruction before any decision is made to use force.

Even Iraq’s neighbours, Iran and Kuwait, both of whom have been attacked by Baghdad, opposed a military strike.

Kuwait, which Iraq invaded in August 1990, said Baghdad had not complied with all council demands. Its ambassador, Mohammed Abul Hasan, supported diplomacy supported by force.

But he said “any use of force must be a last resort and within the United Nations framework and only after all other available means have been exhausted.”

Washington, showing impatience with opposition to its proposals, intends to submit a new, revised draft on Thursday or on Friday to the other four members with veto power — Britain, France, Russia and China, diplomats said.

But no vote is expected until next week at the earliest.

France has been leading the resistance to US proposals, which would give Washington the right to strike Iraq for any failure to meet UN requirements.

Paris, pushing for two resolutions, does not want the council to authorize an attack unless arms inspectors report back that Iraq has not complied with UN demands.

But the United States still insists on one resolution and hopes its new language, which will give more credence to reports by inspectors, is vague enough for most countries to support, the diplomats said.

“There’s a belief that there should be one firm resolution with clear triggering language. Patience is not going to last forever on this,” one US official said.

Even allies of the United States, such as Japan, Australia and the European Union, while sharply criticizing Iraq, fell short of publicly endorsing warfare.

Yahya Massani, the Arab League representative, said a war against Iraq would open “a Pandora’s box.”

“The entire Arab region will be undermined — a region that has already been plagued with extreme anger over Israeli occupation and the preparations for another military attack against another brotherly state,” he said.

Iran, which was invaded by Iraq in the 1980s, agreed. Its ambassador, Javad Zarif, said a US attack would fuel resentment.

“Those ideologues who seek to further their own aims and want to remake the world in their own peculiar image should understand beforehand that they, and they alone, would be responsible for any eventual averse consequences,” he said.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan backed a new Security Council resolution that would toughen the mandate of weapons inspectors and warned Baghdad it had a “last chance.”

Iraq’s UN ambassador, Mohammed Aldouri, said his country was not guilty of any of the accusations.

The Bush administration “unabashedly declared plans for an invasion of Iraq” and wanted the council “to give it a blank cheque to occupy Iraq,” Aldouri told the council.

“You all know that there are no nuclear, chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction in Iraq,” he said, reciting a list of inspections before the UN arms experts were withdrawn in 1998.

The debate resumes on Thursday when the 15 Security Council members voice their views, even before the United States has officially introduced its draft resolution.