By Asif Farooqi, IOL Pakistan correspondent

ISLAMABAD, October 21 (IslamOnline) - The Pakistani government does not consider the religious parties returning to the 45 National Assembly’s seats in general elections this month, as extremist religious groups.

A Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Monday, October 21, rejected the notion that the alliance of the religious parties MMAP, which made historical victory in Pakistani elections, consisted of “religious extremist” parties.

“These are religious parties with a long democratic and parliamentary background and they have contested every elections held in this country,” Aziz Ahmed Khan replied to a question.

Western media has reported since October 10, when general elections in the country saw the religious parties sweeping many constituencies against moderate parties, that religious extremists had won the elections and they would form the government in this country.

Khan said these are baseless apprehensions and the Pakistani government considers these religious parties democratic forces.

Pakistan also denied supply of nuclear related materials to North Korea in exchange for alleged support for its missile program.

“Pakistan has never supplied its nuclear materials to any country including North Korea” Khan told a news briefing. He said the news reports and allegation of certain U.S. officials were totally baseless.

Many U.S. newspapers carried reports over the weekend quoting some U.S. officials that North Korea had been able to develop its nuclear arsenal with the help of Pakistan, who supplied- some material and expertise in exchange for help in developing the missile systems.

In response to a question about the chairmanship of the forthcoming SAARC summit meeting in Islamabad in January next year, Khan said according to the tradition and past history, the newly elected Prime Minister, and not incumbent President General Pervez Musharraf, would chair the SAARC summit meeting. He said he would assume that the Prime Minister would chair the said meeting, on the basis of the SAARC traditions.

Pakistan is to have a new Prime Minister before the SAARC meeting begins here in the Federal Capital between January 11-13. The questions, however. Being raised as to who would participate, or chair the meeting on behalf of Pakistan. “If you go by the previous meetings of the SAARC, chief executive of the country, which in Pakistan would be a Prime Minister by that time, chairs the meeting” Khan said.

According to President General Musharraf, he planned to handover the chief executive authority to the newly elected Prime Minister on November 1. But as no political party so far has been able to claim majority in the National Assembly, there are apprehensions that the power transfer may be delayed for a while.

The spokesman also confirmed that some of the Pakistan-based U.S. troops were leaving the country at the completion of their operation requirements. He said the U.S. Special Forces and ISAF were vacating a terminal of the commercial airport at Karachi next month.