ISLAMABAD, 27 October 2003 — Pakistan declared yesterday it would not commit its troops to peacekeeping operations in Iraq, declining a United States request for deployment in the war-ravaged Gulf state.
“Pakistan will not send its troops to Iraq at any cost,” Information Minister Shaikh Rashid was quoted by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan news agency as saying.
Pakistan has told the United States “categorically” that it will not send its troops to Iraq, Rashid said during a function in the central city of Multan.
On Tuesday Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan said that Pakistan was considering the US request but that domestic considerations prevented Islamabad from giving a positive response.
Public opinion in the country is strongly against sending troops to Iraq.
Khan said consultations were also under way between the Islamic countries that have been asked to contribute troops to the peace effort in Iraq.
Washington had asked the Muslim states of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Turkey to deploy soldiers to ease the burden on US forces confronting mounting opposition in Iraq.
Rashid said Sunday that Pakistan had to be “very cautious” when deciding on the matter.” “Any error of judgment could be disastrous for the country,” he said.
Pakistan last week welcomed a new UN Security Council resolution on Iraq as a “positive development”, but said it had certain reservations.
Resolution 1511, adopted by a 15-0 Security Council vote on Oct. 16, authorizes a multinational force in Iraq that could provide the international cover to send troops and cash to help stabilize the country.
But the resolution does not adequately address aspects pertaining to the country’s political transition, the restoration of Iraq’s sovereignty, security and reconstruction, the Foreign Office spokesman said.
