NEW YORK, 25 September 2003 — Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said yesterday that his country was willing to help in the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq if there were a United Nations mandate to do so. “Pakistan would be prepared to help in a collective UN-sanctioned Arab and Islamic effort to help the Iraqi people, if they wish us to do so,” Musharraf said in an address to the United Nations General Assembly.
“Iraq cannot be allowed to remain an open wound,” he said. “This will impact on the region and could inject a new dimension to the campaign against terrorism and extremism. The Iraqi people “must receive the full support of the international community, including Iraq’s neighbors and the Arab and Islamic countries, in building security and reconstructing their country,” Musharraf said.
Pakistan is one of several key countries the United States has approached to send troops to Iraq but along with others has balked at the contribution unless the United Nations approves it.
In June, Musharraf said he would be willing to send Pakistani troops to Iraq provided it was under the auspices of the United Nations, the Organization of the Islamic Conference or the Gulf Cooperation Council. His position, however, has ignited controversy in Pakistan where Islamic political parties reacted with outrage.
Musharraf is one of Washington’s closest allies in the global war on terrorism but opposed the US-led war on Iraq. Pakistan is one of 10 elected members of the UN Security Council, which will soon take up a US-proposed resolution to give the world body more of a say in Iraq.
