Pakistan army denies guns for gold scandal

Islamabad, May 25: The Pakistan Army has dismissed as ''misleading''a BBC report alleging that the country's peacekeeping troops traded guns for gold in Congo and armed the militia they were supposed to disarm.

Dawn newspaper quoted an army spokesperson as saying that Pakistan's permanent mission in New York was informed by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UNDPKO) on May 22 that the BBC had contacted them for a story on some allegations, which were being investigated.

They were informed that at this stage these were mere allegations, which were to be investigated to ascertain facts.

Mr Kamal Saiki, spokesperson for UN peacekeeping mission in Congo (MONUC), has also denied the allegations saying they were being investigated.

''UN investigations cannot be blocked nor can its police be surrounded by its peacekeeping troops and go unnoticed. This is why Ambassador William Swing, chief of the UN mission in Congo, has also emphatically denied the charges,'' he said.

He said that Pakistan had been one of the largest troop contributors to UN peacekeeping operations worldwide and ''our services are very well known''.

UNI