President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday ruled out sending troops to help restore stability in Iraq, rebuffing pleas from the Iraqi interim government and the United States.
"As far as Pakistan is concerned, our domestic environment is not conducive. It continues to be not conducive. We cannot be seen as an extension of the present forces there," Musharraf told a news conference at the United Nations.
Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said on Tuesday that he had pressed Musharraf to contribute troops to the US-led Multinational Force fighting an insurgency in his country.
The United States and the United Nations also encouraged Pakistan to contribute to a force to protect UN staff in Iraq, diplomats said.
But Musharraf said Pakistani troops did not want to be considered as occupation forces, "so our going there now will be totally counterproductive."
He said that given the new realities on the ground in Iraq, with an interim government preparing for elections, "security forces should come from Iraq itself."
"That itself will be the best option of substituting the US and British forces to withdraw from their high visibility, handing over to Iraqi local forces, and then ultimately working out an exit strategy after an elected government also comes on the ground," Musharraf said. He noted that no Muslim country had been prepared to contribute troops to the US-led force.
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