WASHINGTON, June 25: President General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday said that Pakistan had, in principle, agreed to send troops to Iraq but would like them to be placed under the cover of the United Nations, Organization of Islamic Conference or the Gulf Cooperation Council.

He told ABC channel that at Camp David, President Bush had requested Pakistan to send its troops to Iraq.

Asked if one of the modalities called for the United States to bear the cost of troops being sent to Iraq, he said: “Yes. One of the issues is certainly the financial package, because it wouldn’t be fair to expect Pakistan itself to finance such a large force. The other is the political issue ...”

President Musharraf referred to the issue of perception of the Muslim World, and said “we need to see whether if it (the force) can take place under the auspices of the United Nations, or the OIC cover or GCC ... That is what we are looking for.”

Referring to problems confronting Iraq, he said: “I feel the problem is of governance, a breakdown, total collapse of governance.”

Assessing the situation in Afghanistan, the President said: “a degree of stability is there,” but referred to the basic problem of extending the government’s reach over the entire country. In this context he referred to the warlords’ influence in various parts of Afghanistan.

Referring to the issue of simultaneously holding the offices of President and the chief of the army staff, he said: “I was wearing four hats, initially ... I didn’t take or wear these hats by choice ... But then I realized that this is not correct. I started removing the hats ... Now there are two hats left. One is the Army chief and the other is the president. This, I have also said: ‘I’m very conscious of the fact that these two should not be worn by one person. But in the interest of stability, in the interest of security of Pakistan, since we are going through a state of transition at the moment, it is important that there is harmony between all institutions, especially the military and civil in Pakistan ... So, once I feel that the harmony is there, stability has come, political institutions have started functioning and they have been cemented, I would certainly like to take off this one hat that remains.”

Brushing aside the suggestion about the possibility of dissolution of the Parliament, President Musharraf said: “No, not at all. We have to adopt democratic methods,” adding that he would not take any extra-constitutional measures.

About Pakistan’s policy towards Israel, the President said he had been asked about the progress of the peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis: “In that context, I did say that if at all these peace talks progress towards an improvement obligation, or towards a resolution of the Palestinian dispute, then in consultation with our other Muslim friends, one would like to examine our approach or our policy towards Israel.”

He said at this moment, “since it’s such a sensitive issue, one needs to take the nation into confidence. Consensus has to be developed in the nation to see, what does the nation really want? “

In the meantime, while talking to CNN President Musharraf expressed satisfaction over the issue of balance of conventional forces in the South Asia region while stressing the need for international cover before committing Pakistan’s troops for Iraq.

Speaking at the CNN’s Q&A programme, hosted by Jim Clancey, President Musharraf said that he was satisfied that Pakistan’s concerns of conventional balance of forces in the region were addressed and hoped that the issue of procurement of F-16 aircraft would be taken up gradually.

About his expectations on the issue of F-16s, President Musharraf said: “I didn’t expect a breakthrough. The only issue was that there is a better understanding of our concerns on the conventional balance of forces in our region.”

He said an understanding in this regard could be followed by “a step-by-step progress towards the procurement of F-16s.”

Gen Musharraf said he was satisfied with the talks between him and President Bush at Camp David on Tuesday.

Referring to the deployment of Pakistani forces in the tribal areas along its border with Afghanistan, he said: “They are also there to undertake a military operation. An intelligence network is now functional and very receptive ... There is a ‘Quick Reaction Force,’ which is available to act against any Al Qaeda operatives in the region ... There is an effective deployment on the humanitarian side and the military operation side in the tribal area.”

Referring to reports of Mullah Umar’s re-grouping efforts, President Musharraf said: “May be there are some sympathizers who are even hiding some Al Qaeda operatives, but this is not massive and we are succeeding in this area.”

About the Taliban and their religious education institutions in Pakistan, President Musharraf said they were being misled by religious extremists.