A LAST MINUTE objection by Pakistan yesterday jeopardised a broad international consensus on limiting the use of anti personnel mines, or landmines.
A far reaching international agreement to reduce the danger of such mines by making them easier to detect and giving them a built in self destruct mechanism is due to be approved tomorrow.
But the president of the Geneva conference, Mr Johan Molander of Sweden, said Pakistan expressed concern that a clause banning exports and imports of mines would infringe on its right to self defence.
Pakistan was at loggerheads with the EU, which fears the Asian nation could bypass provisions contained in the agreement.
Islamabad is said to support Muslim rebels in the Indian part of Kashmir, which has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1947.
Mr Molander said Pakistan's demand threatened the accord which was approved by western nations, Russia, India, China and most other non aligned countries. Consultations would be held on the one remaining obstacle.
The new rules to be extended to cover civil as well as international conflicts, were thrashed out over 10 days by a conference of 53 nations meeting to revise a 1980 convention on "excessively injurious" conventional weapons.
The negotiations saw a clash of interests between Third World producers of anti personnel mines, such as China and Pakistan, and the industrialised countries which already possess a range of sophisticated mines.
Earlier, there had been conflict when 450 organisations opposed to the use of mines denounced a limited agreement as "shameful". The group demands a total ban on their use.
The non governmental organisations said the deal would encourage the production and use of a new generation of weapons.
"We have no choice but to denounce the Conference on Conventional Weapons' shameful agreement", said Mr Usman Fit rat, an Afghan who lost both hands and an eye in a mine blast, speaking as a member of an international campaign for a total ban on the mines.
"There is no way for us to put what is happening here in a positive light. Governments have spent the past several months scheming to legitimise the use of landmines', the group said.
"We came to Geneva to put a human face on the mass suffering caused by landmines. We have travelled a long distance with crutches, artificial limbs and wheelchairs to tell our personal stories in the hope that the world's diplomats would listen to our plan to ban anti personnel landmines.
"But this conference has turned a deaf ear to our cries.
At least 500 people are killed or maimed each week by mines and children are the main victims. The Red Cross has provided artificial limbs to 60,000 amputees in Afghanistan, Angola, Burma, Vietnam, Mozambique, Pakistan and Ethiopia in the past 10 years.