TOKYO, Nov 13: Major donor Japan warned on Tuesday it may cut aid to Pakistan after the military regime declared emergency rule and placed a key opposition leader under house arrest.

“I have concerns about the current situation in Pakistan. We’ve been considering increasing official development aid to Pakistan as the country was thought be in the democratisation process and was making efforts in the ‘war on terror,’ Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura told journalists.

“But we may have to examine carefully whether to increase the amount of aid at this point while closely watching the democratisation process in the country,” he said.

Asked if Japan may cut its current aid to Pakistan, the foreign minister said: “We’ll consider every option.” Military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf, facing a potential setback from the Supreme Court, declared a state of emergency on November 3 which he said was necessary to fight militants.

His government on Monday placed former prime minister and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto under house arrest for the second time since she returned from self-exile last month.

Japan said last month it was considering boosting aid to both Pakistan and Afghanistan to assist the “war on terror” after Tokyo’s military contribution, a naval mission providing fuel, was suspended due to domestic opposition.

Japan has been officially pacifist since the World War II and relied on aid as its main foreign policy tool. But consecutive conservative-led governments have tried to increase Japan’s military presence.

Japan used to give hundreds of millions of dollars a year to Pakistan in low-interest loans and grants.

Japan, the only nation to suffer first atomic attack by the United States, suspended all assistance to both Pakistan and India in 1998 due to their nuclear tests.—AFP