ISLAMABAD, 9 September 2003 — US President George W. Bush praised Pakistan’s role in the war on terror during a telephone call to President Pervez Musharraf yesterday, the Foreign Ministry said.

Bush also “expressed satisfaction over the state of bilateral relations between Pakistan and the United States,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.

“During the call, President Bush commended Pakistan for its role in the fight against terrorism,” it said, adding that the two leaders also discussed regional matters.

Bush said he was looking forward to the forthcoming visits of Musharraf and Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali, the statement added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan expressed deep concern yesterday over Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s visit to nuclear-armed rival India that aims to boost defense cooperation.

The four-day trip to New Delhi and Bombay is the highest-level Israeli visit to India since ties were established 11 years ago. Sharon, who was due to arrive in India yesterday evening, will meet Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and other top officials.

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan told a weekly news briefing that Sharon’s visit to India could destabilize the region by widening the arms gap.

“If this axis is directed against Muslims all over the world and if this axis is directed against Pakistan and Pakistani Muslims, we would be most concerned as this would be a very negative development,” he said.

“The other dimension which we are worried about is the growing Indo-Israeli defense cooperation. This has a destabilizing effect on the region and we are deeply concerned about it.”

Relations between India and Israel have been underpinned by burgeoning Israeli defense sales. India spends up to $2 billion a year on Israel’s ordnance and military technology exports, according to Israeli security sources.

The visit is expected to yield defense deals including the sale of a more than $1 billion Israeli airborne early warning radar system.

The three Phalcon radars India seeks would put large parts of Pakistan under Indian surveillance.

Khan said recent defense purchases by India were targeted specifically against Pakistan.

“We have warned against the dangerous consequences of such a collaboration between India and Israel. I think such a collaboration should be avoided at all costs,” he said.

Pakistan does not recognize Israel, although Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has called for a debate on whether relations should be established with the Jewish state.

Musharraf May Be Called to Give Evidence at Assassination Trial

A court will decide later this week whether to call President Pervez Musharraf to give evidence at the trial of his alleged would-be assassins, officials said yesterday.

The anti-terrorism court in the southern port city of Karachi has fixed Friday for arguments over the issue, defense lawyer Abdul Waheed Katpar told AFP.

However, public prosecutor Maula Bux Bhatti said: “I will oppose the defense plea for calling the president.”

Police allege militants parked an explosive-laden vehicle on a busy Karachi road where Musharraf’s motorcade was expected to pass on April 26 last year.

The plot failed because their remote control detonator malfunctioned, according to police.

The same vehicle was later used in an attack on the US Consulate in Karachi, in which 12 Pakistanis were killed, police say.

The court yesterday recorded the statement of defendant Mohammad Ashraf, who denied the charges through his lawyer.