Zardari tells India: Don't push us for action

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 28 (AFP): Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said on Saturday that his country would act to rein in extremist groups but warned India not to dictate the terms of such action following the Mumbai attacks.
"We shall do it because we need it, not because you want it," Zardari said at the family home in Naudero of his dead wife, former premier Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated one year ago in a gun and suicide attack.
Zardari said war was not the solution to the region's problems and pleaded for dialogue, amid a growing perception here among top officials that India could carry out limited military strikes on militant hideouts in Pakistan.
"In case there are people in the region who feel they want to test our mettle, I would like to tell them this mettle has been tested many times. Please do not test it again," he said in remarks broadcast on state television.
"Allow us the freedom of democracy, allow us the freedom of choice, allow us the freedom of opportunity. We will choose our own time."
India has blamed last month's Mumbai attacks on the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and has accused Islamabad of not doing enough to bring such groups to heel -- a claim Pakistan vehemently denies.
Pakistani officials said Friday troops had been moved to the border with India, citing movement of Indian soldiers in the area. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh then summoned his military chiefs for a strategy session.
The escalation of tensions spurred the United States to lead international calls for calm.
"The solution to the problem of the region... is politics, is dialogue and is democracy in Pakistan," an emotional Zardari said.
"I want to tell the oldest democracy and the largest democracies of this world -- listen to us, learn from us," he said in a clear reference to India.
"We have lost our people -- we do not talk about war, we do not talk about vengeance."
Pakistan has cracked down on the Islamic charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa, widely believed to be a front for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba group, and has detained around 40 people including some of the organisation's commanders.
"We have non-state actors. Yes, they are forcing an agenda on us," Zardari said, but added that a solution to extremism in the region could be found.
"We will cure it, we will solve it, we will correct it," he said. "We will be accountable to ourselves. We will fight our own wars."