Author: Qudssia Akhlaque
Publication: Dawn
Date: April 13, 2004
URL: http://www.dawn.com/2004/04/13/top9.htm
The US government has made a renewed
request to Pakistan for sending its troops to Iraq as part of a multinational
UN force that may be dispatched there after the transfer of power in June,
Dawn learnt on Monday.
US ambassador in Islamabad Ms Nancy
Powell conveyed Washington's new request for Pakistani troops during a
recent meeting at the Foreign Office here, diplomatic sources said.
"US has approached Pakistan again
for contribution of troops for a potential UN force after the transfer
of power," these sources told Dawn, adding that Pakistan had made no commitments
yet.
Pakistan's stated position on this
question has been that it would only consider sending troops to Iraq under
the UN umbrella. Last year when the US government asked for a contribution
of 10,000 troops Pakistan reiterated this position.
The US-led occupation forces are
scheduled to formally hand over power to an interim Iraqi government on
June 30. US Secretary of State Colin Powell has made it clear that the
Bush administration would stick to its June 30 target for handover of power
to an Iraqi transitional government.
However, the Democrats have warned
the Bush administration about the timing, saying the plans to transfer
power in June may unleash a civil war. The US is expected to push for a
UN resolution calling for a multinational force in Iraq ahead of the June
30 deadline.
The US State Department confirmed
last week that Washington was in regular contact with some dozen new countries,
including India and Bangladesh, for contribution of troops to Iraq.
Pakistan, Bangladesh and India are
among the five leading contributors to the UN peacekeeping operations around
the world with Pakistan currently topping the list.
Meanwhile, for the US the job in
Iraq is getting tougher with the fresh spate of attacks across the country.
A slow and steady depletion through casualties of its own troops is making
Washington feel the need for foreign troops even more.
The Bush administration has come
under scathing attack from the international community and human rights
organizations for its unilateral adventurism in Iraq that has led to a
humanitarian crisis and worsened the security situation there.
