Pakistan opposes sanctions to pressure Sudan to end Darfur crisis

ISLAMABAD, July 27, 2004 (dpa) — Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf opposes use of sanctions against Sudan to end the humanitarian crisis in Darfur province, a foreign office spokesman said Tuesday.

Pakistan’s stance differs from the European Union, which on Monday called on the United Nations to increase pressure on the Khartoum government, including possible sanctions.

Foreign office spokesman Masood Khan told reporters in Islamabad that Musharraf had spoken with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and the U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on the deteriorating situation in Darfur.

Musharraf also conferred with his Sudanese counterpart, Omar Hassan al-Basheer on Monday to urge the Khartoum government to implement the “joint communiqué” it had agreed with the United Nations to end the Darfur crisis.

“Efforts should be made for more diplomatic space in order to ward off the need or rationale for punitive sanctions or set of sanction (against Sudan),” Khan said.

Sudan has been accused of backing to Moslem militia in indiscriminate attacks on black African inhabitants of Darfur, a western province bordering Mali. Violence has led to breakdown of essential services in the region, raising fears of widespread starvation and creating a massive refugee problem in Darfar and Mali.