Saturday, July 2 2005 14:40 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: Pakistan has said the new Defence pact between India and US would introduce new weapons systems, disturbing balance of power in the region and leading to an arms race.

The ten-year defence agreement would "introduce a new weapon system which will disturb the balance of power in South Asia and lead to an arms race in the region", Pakistan Foreign Minister, Khurshid M Kasuri said yesterday (July 1, 2005).

Kasuri was apparently referring to the prospects of India acquiring Patriot missile defence system from US in his remarks in Dubai while returning from the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) Foreign Ministers meet in Sana, Yemen.

Expressing concern over the agreement signed by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld two days ago, Kasuri said Pakistan will do its best to maintain balance and deterrence to ensure stability and peace in the region, official APP news agency reported.

Kasuri, who had proposed that Islamic countries should press for a seat in the UN Security Council (UNSC) to represent the Muslim world, also claimed that the OIC meet supported Pakistan's stand on UN reforms, specially opposing the attempts made by G-4 countries comprising India, Japan, Germany and Brazil to get the UNSC permanent seats.

Kasuri said decisions taken in the conference will have an impact on the September summit of heads of States and Governments at the UN and the African Summit to be held in Libya on July 4 and 5 regarding reforms in the United Nations.

Apart from Muslim countries, all African, Asian and other developing countries have a vital stake in the UN reforms to ensure a fairer dispensation based on consensus of the international community, he said.

Kasuri reiterated Pakistan's principled stand for emphasis on holistic and broad reforms in the United Nations, instead of focusing on the UN Security Council expansion.

He said OIC Foreign Ministers stressed in the Sana Declaration that the expansion of the Security Council must lead to a fairer representation of OIC States.

Any expansion in the United Nations Security Council should be on a regional basis at the recommendation of regional countries, he said, adding the OIC Foreign Ministers Conference also decided to adopt President Pervez Musharraf's "enlightened moderation" concept and his idea of OIC reforms.

The Conference forwarded the report of the OIC Commissions of Eminent Persons on the organization's revitalisation to the OIC Extraordinary Summit to be held in Makkah, he said.

He also expressed happiness at the adoption of Pakistan's resolutions on Kashmir along with the report of the Kashmir Contact Group of OIC at the conference.

Replying to a question on the grant of OIC observer status to Russian Federation, Kasuri stated that Russia has been given observer status by unanimity as an exceptional case.

This is the first time 52-member OIC has admitted a non Islamic State.

Russia has been admitted on the grounds that it has a substantial Muslim population, though OIC was reluctant to extend the same logic to India despite it having the second largest Muslim population in the world.

The OIC in the recent past came close to admitting India following proposals some member countries but gave up in the end due to threats of walkout by Pakistan.