March 14, 2003	Friday	Muharram 10, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, March 13: Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali on Thursday urged the international community to allow more time for a peaceful solution to end the Iraqi crisis and avoid war.

“Peace be given a chance, a fair chance. This is what Pakistan believes in,” Mr Jamali told a briefing for foreign reporters.

The prime minister reiterated it would be difficult for Pakistan to support war and hoped the countries calling for war would not pressure Islamabad.

The prime minister said he had given the same statement in parliament and repeated the same in his address to the nation.

The prime minister said President Pervez Musharraf had received phone calls from US President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell and other world leaders on Iraq on Thursday.

When asked about any pressure on Pakistan from the US, Mr Jamali said there was no such pressure.

He said: “We and the United States are friends, we will remain so in future.”

“There is no pressure as far as we are concerned. We and the United States are friends and we have remained so...We do not expect any undue pressure from anybody,” he added.

To a question about Pakistan’s vote on the new resolution on Iraq in the UN Security Council, the prime minister said: “Pakistan is part and parcel of the United Nations and will take a decision which will be in its national interest and the government will take the nation and parliament into confidence on it.”

He pointed out that there were many countries who had not taken any decision on the new resolution as yet, therefore there was a need to be patient in this regard.

The prime minister said a decision would be taken when the resolution was put to vote in the council.

Referring to different aspects of war, Mr Jamali said that the Muslim countries would not like war. He said: “The fallout of Iraq war will affect Pakistan definitely.

Answering a question on the impact of war on the anti-terror operation, Mr Jamali said the war against terrorism would continue and Pakistan would remain an active partner of it.

The prime minister said that war against Iraq and war against terrorism were two different things and, therefore, these two should be considered separately. He said war on terror would continue till its logical end.

Referring to the reports of arrest of Osama bin Laden, he said Pakistan was not a sanctuary to terrorists or terrorism. He said media was free but the government was not responsible for such unconfirmed news.

Mr Jamali said the law enforcement agencies were effectively working to fight terrorism and to maintain law and order in the country.

About the arrest of Al Qaeda operators from the residence of a leader of a religious party, the prime minister said it was just a co-incidence.

About his planned visit to the United States, he said it was on the American invitation and added that despite the uncertain regional situation the visit was still on.—Reuters/APP