ISLAMABAD, March 1: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) asked the government on Saturday to use its vote in the UN Security Council by heeding to the opinion of the people of Pakistan and those of the world at large.

In a statement, Makhdoom Javed Hashmi and Mr Saranjam Khan, president and secretary-general of the party, called upon the government not to favour war, and paid tributes to Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed and the leadership of Germany, France, Belgium, China and Russia for supporting the cause of humanity and world peace and blocking the war aims of the United States.

They also lauded the courage of the financial adviser to US President George Bush and an American diplomat, who resigned in protest over the war hysteria created by him.

The PML-N leaders expressed deep concern over the reports citing official sources that Pakistan had not yet made a decision on the new US resolution seeking United Nations approval for an attack on Iraq.

They said the importance of Pakistan’s vote in the Security Council had increased in view of the fact that Russia had indicated its intention to veto the resolution, but Washington had indicated that in case of Russian veto it would regard the support of nine countries as legitimising military operation and the US had now adopted a carrot and stick policy to muster support of the nine Security Council members.

The PML leaders pointed out that Iraq had gone to the extent of allowing overflights of US spy planes and destroying its missiles to avoid war, but calling it a “deception” by Mr Bush was an evidence of the ulterior motives of the US.

They said the US policy on Iraq was totally unilateral and discriminatory, because while it talked of unarming Iraq on the pretext of combating terrorism, it had never even hinted at unarming the terrorist state of Israel, which had been using its lethal arms to massacre innocent unarmed Palestinians for long, not sparing even infants and women.

President Bush and the handful of his supporters, they further said, wanted to sabotage world peace for personal interests, and take hold of the oil wealth of the Muslim countries. It was being said in the US itself that President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheny held shares in oil business and they had endangered even the future of the American people for the sake of their business interests.

These policies had also tarnished the American tradition of upholding peace, justice and human rights.

The PML-N leaders paid tributes to the widespread protests staged by the people of western countries against the environment of crusade created by the US, and called upon the Pakistan government to follow the conscience of the world and use its vote in the Security Council against war.

TERRORISM FLAYED: Meanwhile, PML-N information secretary Siddiqul Farooq, condemning Friday’s attack on US consulate in Karachi in which two policemen were killed and five others injured, termed the incident a mastermind of anti-Pakistan elements to paint the country as a platform for terrorist activities.