February 26, 2003	Wednesday	Zul Hijjah 24, 1423

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KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25: President Pervez Musharraf said on Tuesday that Pakistan was not in favour of regime change “anywhere”, because this would destabilize the entire region.

“I would not like to get involved in conjectures,” he said when a Saudi journalist wanted to know whether Pakistan was afraid of any consequences for itself if there was a regime change in Iraq.

Addressing a crowded press conference, the president said he did not think there would be regime change in other states also.

Asked whether Pakistan as a member of the current Security Council would support the second resolution on the Iraqi situation, the president said his government was for peace, and what mattered was that “both sides” should make efforts to avoid war. All weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) must be eliminated, and Iraq must fully comply with Security Council Resolution 1441.The Blix report was due next month, and it was important to see if there was any violation of Resolution 1441.

Asked about the consequences of an American attack on Iraq, the president said it would be “premature for me to comment, but let us give peace a chance. We must go by the ground realities,” and wait for the UN inspectors’ report to see if there was any violation of the Resolution 1441.

The president said the people of Iraq should not in any case be made to suffer more. “They have already suffered enough, and they should not be the centre of gravity.” The issue was the WMDs and Iraq’s compliance of the relevant UN resolution.

To a question about Pyongyang’s nuclear programme, the president said he was more concerned with the aspersions being cast on his country.

Pakistan, he said, “has not and will not help North Korea (in its nuclear programme). North Korea is doing it on its own. Pakistan will not contribute to proliferation, because we are not in the proliferation business.”