Thursday November 8 5:44 AM ET

Pakistan's Musharraf Says Bombing Must Stop

PARIS (Reuters) - The U.S.-led military attacks on Afghanistan should be stopped as soon as possible because the whole world sees them as a war against innocent civilians, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said Thursday.

He said he would ask President Bush to suspend the bombing during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which starts in mid-November. Continuing it during Ramadan would cause trouble throughout the Muslim world, he said.

``It is being perceived in the whole world ... Has if this were a war against the poor, miserable and innocent people of Afghanistan,'' Musharraf told a news conference after talks with French leaders in Paris.

Musharraf is a key ally in Washington's war on terrorism, which Bush has waged to hunt down Afghan-based militant Osama bin Laden following the September 11 hijacked airliner attacks on New York and Washington.

Musharraf was due to travel to London for talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair later Thursday and from there to the United States to meet Bush on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly.

-- Anonymous, November 08, 2001