October 12, 2003	Sunday	Sha'aban 15, 1424

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

KARACHI, Oct 11: Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri expressed concern on Saturday over India’s deal with Israel involving Pakistan-specific arms worth $1 billion. He said appropriate steps would be taken to remove the imbalance.

The foreign minister was addressing a news conference here, en route to Kuala Lumpur in connection with the forthcoming OIC summit meeting.

“What India does to upset the balance, Pakistan will take all steps necessary to redress that imbalance,” he remarked. “India is responsible, we are not, for introducing brand new weapons systems. These weapons systems that India is acquiring are Pakistan specific,” said Mr Kasuri.

He, nevertheless, said Pakistan was not in an arms race with India and pointed towards the deployment of Indian troops and its inventory of Pakistan-specific weapons.

US AWARE: Asked whether Pakistan had taken up the Indo-Israel issue in talks with the American officials, he replied in the affirmative.

The president and the prime minister, he added, had discussed the matter and he himself had taken up the matter with his US counterpart, Colin Powell. “We pointed out to the American administration and also to Mr Armitage during his recent visit to Islamabad that this has ramifications for the security of Pakistan,” said the foreign minister.

The US, he went on to say, was aware of Pakistan’s concerns and Islamabad had been told that Washington was not only sensitive to the issue but would try and see that the balance remained undisturbed.

“So we hope that the balance is not disturbed because such a balance is absolutely essential. It is sine qua non for peace,” he said, emphasizing that for peace in the area, a minimum degree of balance was essential.

In response to a question about talks with India, Mr Kasuri stressed that Pakistan was open to dialogue for the resolution of all outstanding issues. Through dialogue, he said, even “this (military balance) issue” could be addressed.

PUTIN: President Pervez Musharraf, he said, would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the OIC summit in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 16 and 17. The two leaders had first met in Moscow on Feb 5 when Gen Musharraf visited Russia.

Mr Kasuri said his Russian counterpart, Igor Ivanov, had telephoned him on Saturday and they agreed that President Putin and President Musharraf would meet in Kuala Lumpur, where the Russian president is going at the invitation of the Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad.

Asked whether the invitation to President Putin was an attempt at countering US unilateralism, he said: “I don’t know whether it is an attempt, as you put it, but I think Russia had expressed a desire to attend.” Mr Putin had also spoken in that connection to President Musharraf.