February 5, 2003	Wednesday	Zul Hijjah 3,1423

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 4: The government is neither under pressure from the United States for giving it military bases for use against Iraq nor it will accept any such demand, Information and Media Development Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told newsmen on Tuesday.

He said the decision of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal not to join the government had caused damage to the transition from military rule to democratic system.

He refuted reports that the US sojourn of PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif was the result of a deal and claimed that the former chief minister had gone under special permission from Islamabad and he would return to Saudi Arabia after treatment. He said the Sharifs were bound to remain in Saudi Arabia for 10 years.

“The prime minister will preside over a meeting of the petroleum, interior, finance and information ministries officials soon to assess the possible fallout of a US attack on Iraq, specially with reference to the petroleum stocks,” he said.

He said he was unaware of any exercise carried out on affects of the war but added that the government was abreast of its responsibilities in such an eventuality.

Commenting on the public outbursts against the imminent US attack, he said when a Muslim population was under attack it was natural for fellow Muslims to react but more opposition was coming from European and American people.

Replying to a question, he said the US Immigration and Naturalization Service rules applied to 24 other countries also and more countries were going to be brought under it.

Replying to a question, he said though the government had decided to protect gas pipelines against any disruptions, it would not resort to a military action as was done by the Bhutto regime. He said the offer made to tribal leader Akbar Bugti to nominate his representatives for political resolution of the issue was a reconciliatory signal.

The minister said a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali on Monday had resolved that all the sensitive installations would be protected against sabotage at all costs. It decided to take befitting action against culprits for giving a wrong signal about the government’s writ at a time when Iranian President Khatami was busy in gas pipeline talks with India, he said.