The United States has said Pakistan is "currently part of the global consensus that Iraq cannot be allowed to develop weapons of mass destruction."

"We would expect to continue to work with Pakistan in that regard," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters in Washington on Friday.

Asked about the anti-American demonstrations in Pakistan, Boucher said: "Political parties in Pakistan have organised these demonstrations. We understand they have been orderly. Probably several thousand people have attended. Pakistanis and others certainly have the right to demonstrate and express their political beliefs."

Suggesting that the views held on the streets of Pakistan are different from those of the rulers of the country, Boucher said: "I think on a broader scale it is quite clear -- the international community has made clear -- that Iraq, in its attempts to obtain weapons of mass destruction, constitutes a menace to world peace.