LAHORE, July 28: The Awami National Party has supported the PML-N's demand for setting up a commission on Kargil issue, saying the step is necessary for the country's integrity.

An inquiry into the Kargil episode was essential to fix responsibility on the adventurer, said ANP Secretary-General Ehsan Wyne advocate.

If it was found that Gen Musharraf had acted without taking the then civil government and the navy and air force command into confidence, his immediate removal from the power would be imperative as he could indulge in any such misadventure again, he argued while talking to Dawn here on Wednesday.

Thus, the demand to set up a judicial commission was justified because the masses had every right to know reality of the episode which resulted in hundreds of casualties, he said.

The ANP leader opposed the army operation in Wana (South Waziristan), saying it was aimed at killing or capturing a few Arabs wanted by the US. He said the government had so far failed to show any record that the Arabs were involved in any terrorism.

Their only mistake was that they had come from Afghanistan after war against Russia was over. The government had better solved the issue through dialogue in conformity with tribal traditions, as the use of force had sown the seed of hatred among tribesmen, he said.

The army operation, he said, had never been fruitful in the past, as the nation had lost its eastern arm (East Pakistan) as a result of one such mistake in 1971. He added: "We are facing the consequences of another army operation against Baloch tribesmen during late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's regime."

He said the civil society demanded that the government should inform it about the terrorist activities of Wana people and what damage they had caused to the country so far.

The ANP is also against sending troops to Iraq as mercenaries for the US army, which was occupying the Arab state illegally and immorally. The party held the US and the UK responsible for killings of innocent citizens at the hands of the allied forces and also criticized the UN for giving a free hand to the occupying forces to massacre Iraqis.

The incumbent interim government of Iraq was a US puppet and did not warranty peace and democracy in the war-torn country, Advocate Wyne said. He alleged that the US authorities were intentionally foaming war there to destroy the Arab society making occupation of oil wells easier for the super power.

He said the nation would not tolerate that the army raised with its funds was sent to Iraq for safeguarding the US interests.