Chief UN inspector Hans Blix criticized Iraq on Monday for not declaring a drone some US officials say may be a ‘‘smoking gun’’ but said his disarmament teams still had to determine if it was legal or not. UN arms inspectors, in a revised report of a 173-page document on Friday, said they discovered an undeclared Iraqi drone with a wingspan of 24 feet 5 inches, suggesting an illegal range that could threaten Iraq’s neighbors with chemical and biological weapons. Difficult to support war on Iraq: Pak PM ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali said on Tuesday it would be very difficult for UN Security Council member Pakistan to support a war on Iraq and asked that more time be given to solve the crisis peacefully. ‘‘It would be very difficult for Pakistan to support war against Iraq,’’ Jamali said in an address to the nation on state television. ‘‘This goes against the interests of my nation and of my government,’’ he said. ‘‘I hope more time will be given for peace. We would not want to see the destruction of the Iraqi people.’’ Pakistan, a key ally in the US-led war on terror, is a member of the 15-nation Security Council that would vote on a resolution. (Reuters) US officials have faulted Blix for not speaking more about the existence of a drone in his generally upbeat oral report to the Council last Friday. But Blix said, ‘‘Everyone tries to squeeze us to get as much mileage as they can.’’ ‘‘Iraq should have declared this vehicle . and they did not,’’ Blix said after closed-door Council consultations where he was questioned on the drone. He said the legality would have to be judged as to whether the drone had a range of 93 miles, banned under UN resolutions, or if it were linked to biological and chemical weapons. ‘‘We’re not at this stage,’’ Blix said. Blix also said his document no where asserted that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. In answer to a question whether the drone could be the ‘‘smoking gun,’’ Blix said again, ‘‘We’re not yet at that stage.’’ The document said, ‘‘Recent inspections have also revealed the existence of a drone with a wingspan of 7.45 meters that has not been declared by Iraq.’’ It said inspectors were investigating further Iraq’s unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, as well as remotely piloted vehicles, or RPVs. ‘‘Officials at the inspection site stated that the drone had been test-flown,’’ Blix said. (Reuters)
