HYDERABAD, March 26: Regional instability and fragmentation of other countries cannot be ruled out in the event of damaging the territorial integrity of Iraq, former foreign secretary Niaz A. Naik said on Wednesday.

He was talking to newsmen after speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day seminar on ‘International Terrorism: Its Impact on Asean and South Asian Security,’ organized by the Area Study Centre for East and Southeast Asia of the University of Sindh, Jamshoro.

Mr Naik said that major global powers should refrain from hegemonising smaller nations, adding that if the new world order was based on principles of justice and equity, it would be instrumental in eliminating human rights violations, poverty and unemployment.

The former foreign secretary said that Pakistan’s foreign policy was based on principles following the September 11 incident and the attack on Iraq, adding that Pakistan had reiterated its stance against the use of power and the need for resolving issues and conflicts through peaceful negotiations.

He said that America had attacked Iraq after accusing it of possessing weapons of mass destruction.

Pakistan, he said, had repeatedly said that the United Nations’ weapons inspectors should have been given more time to ascertain the veracity of these allegations.

Mr Naik said that had the inspectors been given more time, suspicions would have been removed.

Pakistan, he said, had also called for the need for taking actions under the UN authority, adding that it had also urged Iraq to implement the UN Security Council resolutions.

If the attack on Iraq was without the backing of the UN, it would be a new form of terrorism, he said.

He said that the American claim was that its attack on Iraq was justifiable through the UN Security Council’s resolution No1441 was not true, adding that the world body had not authorized the US to attack Iraq.

The US, he said, had tried to introduce a new resolution, which had not been tabled because of the explicit threat of the use of veto by France.

He said that the whole world was protesting against the attack on Iraq, adding that this principle was also included in Pakistan’s objective resolution.

Referring to the impression regarding Pakistan being the next target, the former foreign secretary said that Pakistan had taken a principled stand and it was also an important ally in the global anti-terrorism coalition.

Stressing the need for eliminating internal strife, he said that cohesion among the people of the country’s four provinces was vital for strengthening the country’s political, economic and financial structure.

Any country, including India, would have to think many a time before turning towards Pakistan with an evil intent.

He said that terrorism manifested itself in different forms in many parts of the world and different countries had defined terrorism in different ways.

The carnage in the Indian state of Gujarat was the worse example of terrorism, adding that its effects would last for at least a century.

The president of the Foreign Policy Institute, Islamabad, Dr Pervez Ahmed Cheema, called upon the UN to shoulder its responsibilities regarding attack on Iraq, adding that the UN should discuss the issue till these attacks were stopped.

Recalling the Vietnam war, which had spread to Cambodia and Laos, he said that the war on Iraq could engulf other countries. Referring to the Gujarat carnage, he said that it was also terrorism according to the definition propounded by America but it had not been termed as such.