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Pakistan: address root causes of terrorism

Nirupama Subramanian

Says military strategy alone has not produced desired result

ISLAMABAD: On the fifth anniversary of 9/11, Pakistan defended its role in the "war on terror" but said the military strategy had not produced the desired result and demanded that the world pay attention to the root causes of terrorism as part of a long-term strategy to tackle the scourge.

"Pakistan's position has always been that military operations alone would not eradicate terrorism. Five years down the line, if we look around the world, more and more people would reach this conclusion," said foreign office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam.

Accord with rebels

The Pakistan Government recently signed an agreement with pro-Taliban tribals in North Wazirisitan, where it had been conducting military operations to flush out Taliban supporters and Al-Qaeda members but without much success. The Government believes the agreement with the rebels will yield better results.

"It is in line with our policy that military operations alone do not by themselves provide a solution to extremism," she said.

Significant role

The spokesperson said Pakistan had played a significant role in the war on terror.

"If we look at the contribution of any single country, Pakistan's contribution has been outstanding," she said.

But, she said, the world needed a "comprehensive strategy" to address the root causes of the problem.

``Not enough attention''

"There has not been enough attention on the other aspects addressing the underlying causes of terrorism and extremism and these include long-festering political disputes, a perceived and real alienation of Muslims, a sense of injustice in the Muslim world, the lack of economic development and inequities," she said.

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