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Qureshi: we shouldn’t allow terrorists to dictate terms

Shah Mehmood Qureshi

Kuala Lumpur: Warning that terrorists wanted to sabotage the India-Pakistan peace process, Pakistan on Sunday said the two countries should not allow extremists to dictate terms to them.

Pakistan was committed not to allowing its soil to be used for acts of terrorism against any country, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said. India should reciprocate its positive gestures to effectively fight terror, he added. The peace process has been put on hold by India since last year’s Mumbai terror attacks. India has linked resumption of the composite dialogue to Pakistan’s action against terrorists.

“We continue to strongly believe that the terrorists are out there to sabotage the peace process... Our two countries should not be driven and dictated [to] by them,” Mr. Qureshi told the Malaysian news agency, Bernama, in an interview.

Mr. Qureshi, who is here for a meeting of the Group of Eight Developing Islamic Countries beginning on Monday, said terrorism was a common challenge requiring a joint response.

“As you know, Pakistan is fighting terrorism in its own interest. At the same time, we fully understand that in order to deal with terrorism and militancy, regional cooperation is a sine qua non.”

Later, he told journalists that forces had surrounded the key South Waziristan region, choking Taliban militants in their stronghold. The Taliban was in “disarray” and “on retreat” in the face of the sustained military offensive.

“Many important towns, many important locations in South Waziristan have been taken over by the Pakistan army and quite a few militants have been eliminated as well as arrested,” he said.

Pakistan launched a major military operation in the region bordering Afghanistan on October 17, sending over 30,000 troops for the operation ‘Rah-e Nijat’ (Path to Salvation). “We are moving ahead with determination, with resolve... And this is a completely different theatre so you need time. But I think our soldiers and our officers have adapted very quickly.” He said the offensive had been successful and resistance had not come with the same stiffness as expected initially. — PTI

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