World | Pakistan
Pledge to rid Pakistan of terrorism
Pakistan's war against extremists will go on until the country is "terrorism-free", an official said after mounting violence prompted the UN to raise its security stance.
- Agencies
- Published: 23:41 October 3, 2008
Islamabad: Pakistan's war against extremists will go on until the country is "terrorism-free", an official said after mounting violence prompted the UN to raise its security stance.
Pakistan is under intense US pressure to combat militants responsible for rising attacks at home and in Afghanistan.
Its faltering efforts so far have been met with a blur of suicide bombings that have killed nearly 1,200 people since July 2007, according to army statistics.
In remarks broadcast on Friday, Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said the government was undaunted.
Previous Pakistani military campaigns against militants in the tribal belt along the Afghan frontier were halted too soon, he said, in an apparent reference to the policies of former President Pervez Musharraf.
Malik said the current government, which came to power after February elections and forced Musharraf to resign in July, will fight until militants are either killed or forced to flee Pakistan.
"We will not stop any operation unless we reach its logical conclusion. That means that this war will continue until we make Pakistan terrorism-free," Malik told Express News TV.
Pakistan's army is battling militants in at least three areas of the northwest. The most intense fighting has been in the Bajaur, where the military claims to have killed 1,000 rebels.
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