With regard to Islamabad's ties with Washington, Aziz said "Relationship between Pakistan and US is historical and multifaceted; it covers security, defense, diplomatic, political, economic, and social fields and many Pakistanis work in the US," he said. "There are about 60 US companies working here (in Paksitan). US companies pay 9 percent of the taxes in Pakistan and they are expanding because they see growth in the economy. The relations are broad-based, we share a lot of common policies and we also have disagreements. Pakistan is an independent sovereign country and an important member of the Ummah and we believe in peace and settling issues through dialogue and discussion." President George W. Bush will be visiting Pakistan and India in March, and in his budget proposal to the Senate, President Bush has proposed $600 million a year for Pakistan, which was agreed on when President Gen. Pervez Musharraf visited Camp David. Commenting on the conflict and outrage over the cartoons published in a Danish newspaper and reprinted in other European countries, he said: "We have condemned these incidents. No one has the right to demean any faith. Islam is a religion of peace, harmony, compassion and understanding. Anybody who tries to present Islam in a different way is not doing a service to his own society."--SPA 11 23 Local Time 08 23 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/329494