ISLAMABAD, July 26 -- Pakistan sent another contingent of 180 troops to Bosnia Thursday for deployment under U.N. command, official Pakistan Television reported. The troops left for Bosnia from the central Pakistani city of Lahore.
It is the third Pakistani contingent to go to Bosnia during this month. Pakistan has said that despite new risks facing the U.N. troops, it will continue to send its forces to the war-ravaged country to help protect the Bosnian Muslims. Pakistan has now become the fourth-largest contributor of troops to the U.N. forces in Bosnia and says its troops will remain as long as needed by the United Nations. Pakistan is among the Muslim countries that met in Geneva earlier this week and declared the arms embargo against Bosnia illegal. The Muslim states, associated with the 52-nation Organization of Islamic Conference, also pledged to provide weapons to the Bosnian government despite the U.N. arms embargo. On Tuesday Foreign Minister Sardar Assef told journalists in Islamabad that Pakistan's Defense Minister Aftab Mirani and army chief Gen. Abdul Waheed would soon contact other OIC officials to assess what weapons could they send to Bosnia.
