ISLAMABAD, 20 October 2003 — Saudi Arabia and Pakistan yesterday said they will wait for a clear invitation from the Iraqi people before sending peacekeeping troops to Iraq, and Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, denounced extremists who misuse God’s name to take innocent lives.
“A handful of criminal terrorists have destroyed our relations with other people,” said Abdullah, on a state visit to Pakistan. “They have disfigured the image of Islam and Muslims. We must fight this small group and prove its claims wrong.”
Speaking to citizens from a podium decked with flowers here, Abdullah called for an end to extremism and hatred and to create “a garden of tolerance and unity” in the Muslim world. “All those criminals who create chaos on earth, who spill blood and kill innocent people, they have lost their way. They claim to work for God and his Prophet. This is very serious. They are telling only lies,” Abdullah said.
The Saudi and Pakistani foreign ministers expressed the two countries’ reluctance to send troops to Iraq, four days after the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution urging all UN member states to contribute money and troops. Pakistan, a member of the 15-nation council, voted for the resolution.
Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said it was premature to talk about sending troops to Iraq until it was clear that the Iraqis want them.
“The express opinion of the Iraqi people has not been shown to us, and until that time ... we will not send any troops,” Prince Saud told a news conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri.
Kasuri said Pakistan’s armed forces have their hands full but the country would consider a troop request from Iraq when it comes. Prince Saud also lashed out at a recent arms deal between Israel and India, saying the move threatened to create instability in South Asia. He said the recent billion-dollar deal to supply India with Israeli airborne early warning radar systems could fuel an arms race in the region.
“Indeed, what we are hearing of this cooperation is that it is aimed not at the good of the region but... to further add to the arms race,” Prince Saud said.
Pakistan says the acquisition of the Israeli Phalcon system by India will put it at a disadvantage necessitating a matching counter-effort.
The Saudi foreign minister also criticized recent Israeli efforts to beef up its security. “It is a country of four million or so people that believes its security extends from the Indus River to the Atlantic Ocean.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?... It is another element of instability and insecurity,” he added.
President Pervez Musharraf, at a banquet hosted for Crown Prince Abdullah overnight, said the Indo-Israeli collaboration “poses a new strategic challenge to the Islamic world and to the South Asian region.”
