MULTAN War is not in the interest of India or Pakistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Sunday. He said that Pakistan wants peace, not war, but if war is imposed then `we know how to defend the country.` 

`War is not in the interest of both Pakistan and India, however, Pakistan has the capability to defend itself and the government and the armed forces are fully alert.`

The foreign minister said while the country wants peaceful and healthy relations with its neighbours, it will defend itself should a situation arise.

`We have to defend the country; we have to do that at every cost. We want peace, not war but if war is imposed on us, we know how to defend our country`, he said while talking to reporters in Multan on Sunday.

He added that the tension resulting from the Mumbai attacks is not in the interest of both the countries.

`We were trying to defuse the tension. We not only condemn the Mumbai attacks but we condemn terrorism any where in the world.`

`We don`t want war as it will put the future of both the countries at stake. No one will be safe in the event of war`, he said.

The foreign minister said that Pakistan will deal with all terrorists according to its own law and is ready to cooperate with India but will not take any decisions that are `not consistent` with its laws.

When asked to comment on Pranab Mukherjee`sstatement that all options including war were open to India, he said that such problems could not be resolved through rhetoric and emotional statements and urged his counterpart to `work with earnestness for peace in the region.`

He told reporters that European nations support Pakistan`s stance in the wake of the Mumbai attacks and added that the government will act once India hands over `concrete evidence`.

`We don`t believe in speculations nor can investigations be carried out into Mumbai attacks on the basis of speculations. We are waiting for India to provide concrete evidence,` he said.