Islamabad (Fides Service) - "As the calamity of war in Iraq looms on the horizon, we recognise that this conflict will have far-reaching and disastrous consequences for all our region. We share the concern of our Muslim brethren and all people of good will in expressing their total condemnation of this pre-emptive strike." This is part of a Joint Pastoral Letter issued on 16 January signed by Archbishop Lawrence Saldhana, President of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference, and Mr Victor Azariah, general secretary of the National Council of Churches in Pakistan. The Church leaders write: "We call upon President George W. Bush and Prime Minster Tony Blair to roll back their decision to wage war and rather use other means to enforce Iraq to comply with the UN resolutions for disarmament of weapons of mass destruction. We call upon Iraqi leaders and other world leaders to also play their part in an all-out effort to avoid war and prevent untold sufferings for millions of innocent people who will be affected by a war". See joint Pastoral Letter "On Impending War in Iraq" in original English at www.fides.org. (Fides Service 20/1/2003)