Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf has said more political support from Iraqis and the Islamic world were needed before his country could decide on sending troops to Iraq. He also sought more military aid and intelligence inputs from the United States to fight Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
The Pakistani leader, who is facing stiff opposition on the issue of sending troops to Iraq, said in an interview to the New York Times that "you need to change the domestic viewpoint" and this would happen only when "the United Nations, Muslim countries, Arab countries and Iraqis themselves ask for Muslim troops." He called on groups like the Organisation of Islamic Countries and the Iraqi Governing Council, as well as the United Nations, to endorse his idea.
Musharraf's conditions were virtually similar to India's, which has said that there has to be a request directly from Iraqis themselves to New Delhi for sending troops.
Referring to criticism that his government had not done enough in the two-year-old campaign against Al Qaeda and the remnants of the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan, which had many contacts with elements of the Pakistani government, he argued that progress had been made toward controlling the mountainous tribal regions on Pakistan's northwestern border with Afghanistan.
However, the Pakistani General said his government needed more resources - specifically helicopters to tighten its control and act on reports of terrorist movement in the vast, mountainous region.
"US assistance is required, and if there is a delay, let me assure you it is not from our side," he said.
The daily said the Pakistani leader punctuated the wide-ranging interview with frequent pleas for patience and understanding on many fronts, from Islamabad's struggle with India over Kashmir to the transformation of Pakistan.
While condemning the attacks on Indian civilians as 'terrorism', he alleged, "Everyday, civilians are being killed on our side of the border, through Indian shelling."
Musharraf is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly.
