By
Asif Farooqi, IOL Pakistan Correspondent
ISLAMABAD,
August 15 (IslamOnline) - Winding up a South Asia visit, Syrian
Foreign Minister Farooq al-Sharaa agreed Thursday, August 15, with
Pakistani officials that the U.S. is not justified in its planned war
against Iraq, government sources told IslamOnline.
Al-Sharaa
stressed the need to resolve bilateral issues through dialogue and
vehemently opposed the use of force against Iraq.
“There
is no justification for the U.S. to attack Iraq. This is our policy
and the policy of the whole Muslim nation,” Al-Sharaa told reporters
following meetings with Pakistani leaders.
The
Syrian Foreign Minister held talks with President Pervez Musharraf and
his Pakistani counterpart, Inamul Haq. AL-Sharaa spent a busy day in
Islamabad following his meetings in the Indian capital New Delhi where
he held meetings Wednesday, August 14, with the Indian leadership.
Both
sides agreed on the issues pertaining to the Middle East as well as on
the regional situation. While sources said Pakistan agreed to the
Syrian assertion that Iraq should not be a target of the U.S. military
campaign, the Syrian leader agreed that Pakistan and India should try
and resolve their differences only through dialogue.
Conflict
never helps in solving problems be it in Iraq or in Kashmir, said both
sides.
Responding
to a question at the conclusion of his meeting with Haq at the
Pakistani Foreign Office, Al-Sharaa said he had urged both India and
Pakistan to start the process of dialogue so that issues could be
sorted out between the two neighbors.
Before
going into formal discussions with Haq, the Syrian foreign minister
had a one-on-one meeting with President Musharraf and delivered a
special message from Syrian President Bashar al-Asad.
Al-Sharaa’s
visit was aimed at further discussions of the mutual agreements signed
between the two countries during the Pakistani President’s earlier
visit to Damascus in January this year
