July 30, 2003	Wednesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 29, 1424

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WASHINGTON, July 29: Pakistan has not yet informed the United States whether it is sending troops to Iraq, US officials said on Tuesday.

In a statement released by the State Department on Tuesday, spokesman Richard Boucher said Pakistan was one of many countries that the United States has consulted on “possible contributions to reconstruction and stabilization” of Iraq.

“They will decide what they can do. We welcome any offers of assistance and support,” he added.

Mr Boucher said that India has made some contributions to the reconstruction effort, “but made a statement that said they could not send troops without a stronger UN mandate.”

Recent media reports in the United States have suggested that the Bush administration has increased pressure on India and Pakistan for sending troops to Iraq.

When a reporter asked if Pakistan was sending infiltrators to Afghanistan to destabilize the Karzai government, Mr Boucher avoided a straight answer.

“There is still some fighting going on, some security problems. We’ve also looked carefully at the security situation and discussed with those NATO countries that are already out there (in Afghanistan) how to continue to improve the security situation there,” he said.