Pressure mounts on Pakistan

By B. Muralidhar Reddy, The Hindu, Tuesday 4 March 2003

ISLAMABAD March 3. As a newly inducted non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Pakistan finds itself under intense pressure from the lobbies in favour and against war on Iraq.

After the 40-minute telephone call by the Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov to the Pakistan Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri on Saturday, today it was the turn of the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw.

While Mr. Ivanov appraised Mr. Kasuri about the memorandum tabled by Russia, France and Germany in response to the second resolution of the United States and United Kingdom, Mr. Straw reportedly explained the Pakistan Foreign Minister the rationale behind the new resolution. Obviously both sides wanted Islamabad to back their respective initiatives.

That is not all. Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, phoned his Pakistani counterpart, Pervez Musharraf, to discuss boosting cooperation in the U.N. Security Council to prevent a war against Iraq. Mr. Assad called on Pakistan, as a Muslim country and member of the U.N. Security Council to boost efforts and cooperate with Syria and other council members to unite against any initiative or effort aiming to give the United States pretexts to attack Iraq, the official Syrian news agency said.

The Syrian leader also informed Gen. Musharraf of the results of the Arab summit in Egypt on Saturday, during which the Arab states stressed their firm refusal of any strike on Iraq.

Pushed from within and without Islamabad so far chosen the middle path.

Gen. Musharraf has repeatedly said that ‘peace ought to be given the best chance through a diplomatic solution’ while maintaining that Pakistan would like to wait for the new report of U.N. inspectors before taking any decision.

The ‘anti-American’ sentiment on the home front was evident from the impressive ‘million march’ organised by the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, alliance of religious parties, in Karachi on Sunday.