WASHINGTON, Jan 4: The United States has said that despite Friday’s anti-American demonstrations, Pakistan remains a part of the global consensus against Saddam Hussein and Washington looks forward to continuing its cooperation with Islamabad.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a briefing that those who demonstrated in Pakistan against a possible US attack against Iraq had the right to do so.

He said several thousand people attended Friday’s rallies that were organized by political parties but the participants “have been orderly”. “Pakistanis and others certainly have the right to demonstrate and express their political beliefs,” said Boucher, adding that it would not affect Pakistan’s place in the international effort to prevent Iraq from making weapons of mass destruction.

“I think on a broader scale, the international community has made clear that Iraq, in its attempts to obtain weapons of mass destruction, constitutes to be a menace to the world peace. Pakistan is part of that global consensus and we look forward to continuing our cooperation with Pakistan,” said the US official.

Asked if Washington was concerned that Pakistan’s new parliament was dominated by people who had anti-American feelings, Boucher repeated: “As I said, Pakistan is currently part of the global consensus that Iraq cannot be allowed to develop nuclear and of mass destruction weapons, and we would expect to continue to work with Pakistan in that regard.”

When a reporter said that this week Pakistan also has become a member of the UN Security Council and if anti-American feelings increased, the country could create problems for Washington inside the council, Boucher said anti-US protests have been held in other countries as well and they were also in the council.

He said: “I’m sure we have been in touch with the Pakistanis about their membership in the Security Council. We’ve generally done that with all Security Council members and new Security Council members as we start new terms, as we start a new year. I’m sure that’s been taking place in New York. I don’t know if we’ve had other conversations; we often do as well.”

He urged the reporter concerned about the demonstrations in Pakistan to remember that Pakistan had more than 140 million people while only “several thousand” participated in the protest.

Boucher said that protests were also held against the US military build-up in Bahrain as well.

Acknowledging that there have been demonstrations about Iraq in various countries, the State Department spokesman said the United States tries to work with both governments and publics despite the protests.

“We try to make our case, we try to make clear what our intentions are. People have the right to demonstrate; that’s fundamental to us, and we know that people who have views should be allowed to express them,” he added.