NEW YORK, Sept 24: President Pervez Musharraf said on Wednesday that US President George W. Bush understands Pakistan’s compulsions on his request for contributing troops for Iraq.
Addressing a news conference after his meeting with President Bush, Gen Musharraf said: “There is no pressure on us for sending troops to Iraq.”
The US leader, he said, also understood the difference between his (Musharraf’s) “international commitments and the domestic situation (in Pakistan),” where people are worried about the developments in Iraq.
“We did discuss the issue of troops for Iraq in our 45-minute meeting but our position on Iraq is fully understood,” he added.
In a separate statement the White House described the Bush- Musharraf meeting as “excellent,” in which the two leaders “talked about the challenges in the war on terrorism”.
“They talked about the need to stop cross-border terrorism in Kashmir,” said the White House.
“ President Bush reiterated our friendship for Pakistan, (the US assurance for) going to be there for Pakistan, and they talked a bit about how the relationship would develop (and is) going forward,” the White House said.
President Musharraf said he also discussed the conventional imbalance created by India’s recent purchase of sophisticated weapons from various sources and the need for Pakistan to maintain the balance.
“If we want to prevent war in South Asia, we need to create a no-win environment for India,” said Mr Musharraf while explaining how he described the conventional balance to Mr Bush.
“I did raise the issue of F-16 aircraft that Pakistan had bought in the late 1980s and is now trying to re-acquire,” said the president.
“No, I did not express any concern to Mr Bush about Indo- Israeli relations,” said Mr Musharraf, but added that the Indian decision to by weapons from Israel was a cause of concern for Pakistan.
NEW YORK, Sept 24: President Pervez Musharraf said on Wednesday that US President George W. Bush understands Pakistan’s compulsions on his request for contributing troops for Iraq.
