October 18, 2003	Saturday	Sha'aban 21, 1424

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PUTRAJAYA, Oct 17: Pakistan has voted in favour of the US-backed UN resolution on Iraq, but will not send its troops unless certain preconditions are met, President General Pervez Musharraf said here on Friday.

“We have voted in favour of the resolution but we have clarified absolutely unambiguously that this is not linked to Pakistan contributing forces for Iraq,” he told a press conference at the end of the OIC summit.

Referring to the Kashmir issue, Gen Musharraf asked for the commitment of the Indian government in beginning talks to end violence in the Valley.

He said while both India and Pakistan had taken steps to reduce tension, peace could not be achieved without holding dialogue. “The process of dialogue has not started. We haven’t started talking to each other.”

He said India’s response to peace offers from Pakistan was “shocking”, recalling that New Delhi had rejected all suggestions by Islamabad to come closer to talks.

“My offer, unfortunately, was rejected. But it is high time we start the process of dialogue because that ultimately will lead to a peaceful resolution of our disputes.

“Otherwise this tension will continue to the detriment of both our countries, India and Pakistan, and also the entire Southeast Asia region,” said the president.

He stressed that Pakistan was committed to ending the crisis in Kashmir, both to secure the peace and stability for its people, and also to increase foreign investments in the Valley.

In reply to a question, the president said Pakistan had been saying all along that there were certain pre-conditions required before Islamabad contributed troops for Iraq.

Elaborating, he said the people of Iraq must demonstrate desire for Muslim or Pakistani troops. Secondly, he added, other Muslim countries should show the desire and should be willing to participate in sending troops to Iraq.

“This would ultimately change the public opinion in Pakistan which is very against at the moment in this regard,” he pointed out.

“Until and unless this environment is changed we cannot take the decision to send troops as merely the passage of the UN Security Council resolution has not brought about change in this environment.”

The president said it would be unfair to ask Islamabad to financially support Iraq’s reconstruction as Pakistan needed resources for its economic revival.

OSAMA: Osama bin Laden is still alive and is probably holed up somewhere on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, President Musharraf told Reuters in an interview. He said he didn’t know exactly where one of the world’s two most wanted men was hiding out.

“But I’m sure he’s alive. I can’t say whether he’s on our side of the border or the Afghan side,” Gen Musharraf said.

Gen Musharraf said Pakistan’s intelligence service was working with the CIA to monitor comings and goings in the border area and recently acquired technology had made him “reasonably sure” Osama was alive.—Agencies