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Foreign miscreants face elimination, says Musharraf

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Terrorism has no place in the country, says Pakistan President

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has asked the "foreign miscreants" in the country to leave or be prepared to be "eliminated."

Addressing a gathering in Lahore on Thursday to mark the Pakistan Day and Pakistan Muslim League's centennial convention, he said those who supported terrorism or involved in terrorist activities had no place in the country.

Referring to extremism and terrorism in parts of the NWFP, Gen. Musharraf said Pakistan would protect its sovereignty and confront terrorists who try to bring "disrepute" to the country and hamper development.

He said foreign forces would not be allowed to operate against terrorists on Pakistani soil. He said the terror activities of foreign miscreants in Pakistan and world at large were in violation of the country's sovereignty.

He asked the people to support the Government and the armed forces in combating terrorism and extremism. On Balochistan, he said only a handful of tribal chiefs were creating law and order problem in parts of the province.

Tribal chiefs

"These are the people that had been black-mailing the Governments in the past and held the country hostage for the last 30 years." These tribal chiefs, had no interest in the well-being of their people and continue to torture and subjugate them to serve their interests.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, PML president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, PML secretary general Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chief Ministers of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan, president of the PML NWFP, federal and provincial Ministers and others attended the convention.

Gen. Musharraf regretted the ransacking and destruction of public and private properties in Lahore during protests against the blasphemous sketches.

"It is unfortunate that a few extremist elements were exploiting the religion for their own vested interests," he said and added there were people who supported the violence to draw political mileage out of it.

"Is this the way to progress and achieve prosperity and earn a respectable place in the comity of nations," he asked and warned such elements that the Government would now allow it.

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