LAHORE, Feb 15: The Women’s Action Forum has condemned the US war threat against Iraq and demanded that the Pakistan government should also condemn it in clear terms.

Speaking at a news conference at the Lahore Press Club on Saturday, WAF convener Hina Jilani said war and acts of terrorism had threatened the global environment with serious implications for the rights to peace, security and democracy in the region.

Fully conscious of the dangers of terrorism, she said, this threat needed to be dealt with within the framework of human rights and the rule of law. “Any response to the menace of terrorism that leads to a war or erosion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law is unacceptable,” she said.

Ms Jilani said America had played equally important role along with the military policies and non-state elements in promoting terrorism and retrogressive trends to keep the country in a perpetual state of crisis. She said the war threat against Iraq had also affected the Pakistan’s agenda to strengthen democracy, poverty alleviation and provide rights and freedom from want and hunger. She said the people behind warmongering and global militarization had never bothered to solve problems in a positive manner.

Answering a question, Ms Jilani said Pakistan must adopt a transparent policy about the war threat against Iraq because double-standards would not benefit anyone. She said that any decision by the government could not suppress the voice of people being raised to save the interests of humanity. “If Pakistan government considers that US’s war threat against Iraq is wrong, it should give policy in clear words,” she added.

Earlier, WAF leader Samina Rehman said Pakistan’s women also opposed the use of military means and methods to combat terrorism as well as any attempt to create a military society through ultra-nationalism or religious extremism.

In order to show solidarity with progressive forces in Pakistan, she said the WAF had joined hands with the Pakistan Anti-War Committee to protest against the threat of war posed by the US. “We believe that terrorism is the procreation of religious extremism deliberately created in this region as part of the cold war strategy of the west,” she added. She said the WAF had rejected the notion of a clash of cultures and see the situation emerging as stronger challenge for the protection of human rights.

“Those who commit acts of terrorism and seek recourse to war and undermine all norms and values of human rights, equally threaten civilization,” she said.