ISLAMABAD, 13 September 2003 — Pakistan yesterday expressed deep concern over Israel’s decision to expel Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and said it would undermine the peace process in the Middle East.

“President Arafat is duly elected head of the state of Palestine and the decision to exile him from his own country is condemnable,” a foreign office spokesman said.

The spokesman said such steps would undermine the implementation of the Quartet’s road map and would be a setback to the peace process in the Middle East.

“It is therefore incumbent upon the members of the Quartet as well as the international community to ask Israel to reverse the decision,” he added.

US Treasury Secretary

to Visit Pakistan

US Treasury Secretary John Snow this month will visit Pakistan — Washington’s key ally in the war on terror — to discuss economic reform and moves to combat terrorist financing, the US Embassy said yesterday. The visit is part of a wider trip by Snow to the Middle East and South Asia from Sept. 14 to 24. The exact dates for his visit to Islamabad have yet to be fixed.

Snow will “emphasize Pakistan’s progress in combating terrorist financing,” a statement on the embassy’s website said.

He will also “discuss the need for continued economic reforms and progrowth policies that will strengthen this key ally in the war on terror.”

During his trip Snow will visit a newly regulated money transfer operator, known as a hawala. Hawalas, which traditionally operated outside of official banking channels, were considered a prime route for terrorist money transfers around the world.

“Pakistan has been an important partner ... in the effort to regulate hawalas and prevent their abuse by terrorists,” the statement said. Islamabad has earned substantial financial rewards from Washington for abandoning Afghanistan’s Taleban regime and providing pivotal support to the hunt for Al-Qaeda terror suspects.

Also, Sri Lanka’s Interior Minister John Amaratunga was due to arrive in Pakistan later yesterday on a two-day visit to discuss counterterrorism measures and people smuggling, officials said.

Amaratunga will hold talks with his Pakistani counterpart Faisal Saleh Hayat and top security officials today and return to Colombo tomorrow. Amaratunga, also minister for Christian Affairs, and Hayat will sign an agreement on combating terrorism, human trafficking and visa procedures, an interior ministry official told AFP.