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Pak opposes nukes in Afghanistan, seeks
cessation of hostilities during Ramadan

Chief of the United States Central Command in the Gulf Gen Tommy Franks on Monday held talks with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and other top army commanders, amid assertions by Pakistan it was firmly opposed to 'even the thought of' using nuclear bombs in Afghanistan.

Commenting on the meeting, Foreign office spokesman Riaz Mohammad Khan said that Gen Franks discussed the prevailing situation in the region.

The meeting was attended by US ambassador to Islamabad Wendy Chamberlin and Pakistan army's chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee Gen Mohammad Aziz Khan.

While declining to disclose the details of what transpired in the meeting, Khan, however, expressed Pakistan's strong opposition to any use of nuclear bombs in Afghanistan as suggested by US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld.

"We firmly reject even the thought of using nuclear weapons, tactical or otherwise," Khan said.

Rumsfeld stirred a major controversy and a great deal of embarrassment for allies like Pakistan on Sunday by saying in a television interview that the US did not rule out the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons in Afghanistan to kill Saudi extremist Osama bin Laden and Taleban leaders.

Gen Franks and Gen Musahrraf also discussed differences between the US and Pakistan over the continuation of the US-led military campaign during the forthcoming Ramadan season, which begins around the middle of November.

Reiterating Pakistan's stand that there should not be any fighting during Ramadan, Khan in his briefing on Monday said that while the US kept its option open, Pakistan believed that the 'sanctity of Ramadan should be observed. Continuation of the conflict would aggravate the feelings of Muslims'.

Khan also said that United Nations special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who arrived in Islamabad on Sunday night, had a meeting with Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and the progress made in the efforts to form a broad based government to replace the Taleban.

Describing the meeting as preliminary, Khan said there was complete agreement among all neighbours of Afghanistan, the UN and the international community that any process for the broad-based government has to protect the territorial integrity of Afghanistan.

Khan said Brahimi would also call on Gen Musharraf later.

On the gathering of Pakistan tribesmen on the Pakistan-Afghan border in Bajaur, he said Pakistan would not want any of its citizens to be going into Afghanistan.

"We have told the Taleban government that they should not have any Pakistani as part of their military effort or in their training bases," he said.

PTI

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