April 15, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 8, 1429

BEIJING, April 14: President Pervez Musharraf on Monday condemned protests that have marred the Beijing Olympic torch relay and vowed to maintain security when the flame arrives in Pakistan this week.

“We have taken all measures to ensure its security,” Mr Musharraf told students following a speech at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.

“There is no one in Pakistan, not one man, who would like to do anything against the interests of China.”

The Olympic torch relay arrives in Islamabad on Wednesday, the first stop in the Asian leg of its world tour.

The relay’s European and US legs were marred last week by protests in London, Paris and San Francisco, directed mainly against China’s handling of the Tibet issue.

“As far as some of the actions around the world, in parts of the world, we condemn it strongly because we think that politics should be kept out of sports,” Mr Musharraf said.—AFP