Pakistan won't be staging ground for terror attacks: FM
Sunday, 13 July 2008
WASHINGTON, Jul 12 (AFP): Pakistan will not allow itself to be staging ground for any terrorist attacks, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Friday amid reports foreign fighters were heading to the country to join Al-Qaeda militants.
Washington has warned that global terror group Al-Qaeda is rebuilding itself in Pakistan's tribal areas for a possible terrorist attack on US soil while Kabul has accused Pakistan of backing Taliban insurgents waging a bloody insurgency against international troops in Afghanistan.
"Pakistan will not permit its territory to be used by anyone against any country," Qureshi told a forum of the Washington-based Brookings Institution.
The newly elected administration of Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani "has now the legitimate mandate to confront the forces of terrorism wherever they rear their ugly heads," Qureshi said.
US intelligence officials say there has been an increase in
foreign fighters travelling to Pakistan to join up with Al-Qaeda-linked militants in the country's tribal areas, the New York Times reported Thursday.
Dozens or more Uzbeks, North Africans and Arabs from Gulf states have reportedly moved into Pakistan in recent months, shoring up the Al-Qaeda forces backing the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.
General David McKiernan, the new NATO commander in Afghanistan, said the situation in Pakistan's northwestern border areas, where Al-Qaeda and other Islamic insurgents are reportedly
based, had worsened.
In talks with White House National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, Qureshi "expressed determination" of his government "to fight terrorism, which continues to be a threat to Pakistan," the Pakistan embassy in Washington said in a statement.
He told Hadley that Islamabad "will not negotiate with the terrorists, but will work with our people to limit the influence of extremists in the society," the statement said.
At the forum, the minister said his government would
continue with what he called a "political dialogue" to complement its military strategy "aimed at achieving peace agreement with those who desire peace and are willing to lay down their arms.
Washington has warned that global terror group Al-Qaeda is rebuilding itself in Pakistan's tribal areas for a possible terrorist attack on US soil while Kabul has accused Pakistan of backing Taliban insurgents waging a bloody insurgency against international troops in Afghanistan.
"Pakistan will not permit its territory to be used by anyone against any country," Qureshi told a forum of the Washington-based Brookings Institution.
The newly elected administration of Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani "has now the legitimate mandate to confront the forces of terrorism wherever they rear their ugly heads," Qureshi said.
US intelligence officials say there has been an increase in
foreign fighters travelling to Pakistan to join up with Al-Qaeda-linked militants in the country's tribal areas, the New York Times reported Thursday.
Dozens or more Uzbeks, North Africans and Arabs from Gulf states have reportedly moved into Pakistan in recent months, shoring up the Al-Qaeda forces backing the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.
General David McKiernan, the new NATO commander in Afghanistan, said the situation in Pakistan's northwestern border areas, where Al-Qaeda and other Islamic insurgents are reportedly
based, had worsened.
In talks with White House National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, Qureshi "expressed determination" of his government "to fight terrorism, which continues to be a threat to Pakistan," the Pakistan embassy in Washington said in a statement.
He told Hadley that Islamabad "will not negotiate with the terrorists, but will work with our people to limit the influence of extremists in the society," the statement said.
At the forum, the minister said his government would
continue with what he called a "political dialogue" to complement its military strategy "aimed at achieving peace agreement with those who desire peace and are willing to lay down their arms.