February 2, 2003	Sunday	Ziqa’ad 29, 1423

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WASHINGTON, Feb 1: US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell has asked Foreign Minister Mr Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri to attend the Feb 5 session of the UN Security Council, diplomatic sources told Dawn on Saturday.

The sources said that 14 of the 15 Security Council members had already agreed to send their foreign ministers on US request. “The 15th — Mexico — is also likely to make a similar announcement soon,” said a US official.

The special session will hear a second report from UN inspectors on their search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

In the Feb 5 session, the Bush administration is expected to plead its case for military action against Iraq and will seek active support from its allies.

Americans believe that as a close US ally in the war against terror, Pakistan will support the Bush administration on Iraq both in and outside the Security Council.

During his meetings with Mr Powell and other senior US officials in Washington this week, Mr Kasuri was told that while the Bush administration was aware of the concerns of its Muslim and Arab allies, it still expects them to support its Iraq policy.

When the Bush administration first requested Mr Kasuri to extend his stay, he was a little reluctant because he believed that such a long stay in Washington may cause “concerns in Islamabad,” said a diplomatic source. “But the State Department insisted that Mr Kasuri must stay.”

Initially, it was decided that Mr Kasuri should go to London and then return to Washington on Feb 5 to attend the session, but later the foreign minister decided to stay in the United States.

He is now expected to return to Islamabad on Feb 6.

On Saturday, Mr Kasuri left for Atlanta to hold talks with former US president and Nobel laureate Jimmy Carter.