Pakistan's new government gave its strongest commitment yet on containing Islamic militancy, vowing on Wednesday to prevent attacks on Afghanistan but insisting foreign forces would not be allowed to operate on Pakistani soil.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met with top officials, including the chiefs of the army and the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence. He said the government would not allow the tribal areas to descend into chaos, and reserved the right to use military force.
“Pakistan will not allow its territory to be used against other countries, especially Afghanistan,” his office said in a statement.
In a shift from the policy of former army chief and US ally President Pervez Musharraf, the newly elected government has been trying to reach peace deals with the militants, which the US fears will only give the fighters time to regroup.
Afghanistan says Taliban and al-Qaeda are taking advantage of the lawlessness to turn the region into a base for launching attacks across the border.
TRIBAL DEALS
In an apparent bid to blunt that criticism, Gilani said any deals would be with tribal leaders — not militants — and that the agreements would include an obligation to stop “cross border movement for militancy” and expel foreign fighters.
“They will be made to understand that the use of force by the military will be justified if the tribes act contrary to their obligations,” he said.
In Washington, US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said that Gilani’s policy statement would “to some extent” address concern that the peace deals would only lead to more violence.
Gilani’s statement also signaled that army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani would have command of all paramilitary as well as regular forces, and authority to decide how military efforts will be executed, while keeping civilian leaders informed about operations.
But in a message to both Afghanistan and the US, Gilani stressed: “Under no circumstances will foreign troops be allowed to operate inside Pakistan.”
SKI RESORT TORCHED
Meanwhile, Taliban militants set fire to the country’s only ski resort and separately killed three people in a northwestern tourist valley, despite a recent truce with security forces, officials said yesterday.
The attack on the government-run hotel happened at Malam Jabba, part of the troubled Swat Valley where followers of an Islamist cleric signed a peace deal with Pakistani authorities last month after months of clashes.
Residents said a large portion of the resort had been reduced to ashes and the militants also damaged chairlifts and a tower belonging to the meteorological department.
The hotel, located some 150km north of Islamabad at an altitude of 2,636m, had been closed for several months since unrest in the area had kept all tourists away.
Militants also torched three houses and shot dead two relatives of a politician in the Matta district of Swat Valley, Khan said, adding that a woman died in one of the house fires.
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