LAHORE, Feb 14: Israel will be the last country to be disarmed (of its nuclear arsenal), says British Secretary of State Jack Straw.

Tel Aviv was facing threat to its very existence (from its Arab neighbours) , so it would be the last state to be disarmed, Straw told a select gathering at a local hotel on Monday.

He was responding to a question by Col Ikramullah (retired) that why Islamabad was being singled out in expressing fears that its nuclear assets might fall into the hands of extremists, ignoring the cases of New Delhi and Tel Aviv.

Mr Straw, however, said that the question of Tel Aviv disarmament would become insignificant if, like Egypt and Jordan, other Arab neighbours struck peace deals with Israel.

CM's adviser Mowahid Husain Shah asked as occupation of Kashmir, Chechnya and Palestine was causing militancy in the regions, why this basic reason was not being eliminated, the foreign minister said the conflict in Kashmir could not be presented as an excuse for 'terrorism' in the area.

The standoff between India and Pakistan on the issue was dangerous as it had brought them to the brink of war two years ago, threatening lives of hundreds of thousands of people, he said while extending support of his country for a composite dialogue between the two neighbours. "We shall extend our support whenever we shall be asked to."

He said a stable and peaceful Kashmir and arrangements that respected the legitimate concerns of all the Kashmiris had the potential to unlock full potential of regional cooperation and security in the subcontinent.

He did not directly reply to a question by human rights activist Asma Jehangir about UK's support for an army dictator in Pakistan. Admitting that Pakistan had a chequered history witnessing democracy and army regimes at various occasions, he said it was a complicated situation for him to comment on.

He, however, said that the history of democracy in Europe was not very old as some members of the European Union had come under democratic rule only a few decades back.

Answering a question about coalition forces' Iraq exit plan, Mr Straw said they could immediately pull out of it whenever the Iraqis said so. But they were unlikely to say so until they did not build up their own forces, he added.

However, he said UN resolution 1546, if not reviewed, allowed stay of coalition forces in Iraq up to December 2005. About the justification for attack on Iraq, Straw said Saddam Hussein had violated 12 UN resolutions. The US and UK, it may be added, have been citing the presence of weapons of mass destruction and introduction of democracy in Iraq as the reasons for the attack.

Earlier in his lecture, the UK foreign minister said that the coming century was of Asia's. The potential for a Pakistan at peace with its neighbours, stamping out extremism, investing in education and building on its economic success was enormous.

He said he wanted that Britain and Pakistan to build from their already strong relationship a modern partnership for engagement and understanding that would benefit not just themselves, but others too.

APP ADS: Straw stressed the need for strengthening ties between Muslim and non-Muslim nations to meet world challenges. "In a world where so many of our challenges require international action, we need to strengthen partnerships between Muslim and non-Muslim nations alike," he said.