By IANS,
Lahore : Foreign militants are spreading terror in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) adjoining Afghanistan, President Pervez Musharraf has said.
Foreigners, especially Uzbeks and Afghans with links to Al Qaeda, were hiding in Pakistan’s tribal belt and in mountains and carrying out terrorist activities, Musharraf said Saturday while addressing the National Management College here.
The president said the Taliban, which had links with the foreign militants, was facilitating terrorism, the Daily Times reported Sunday.
Terrorism and extremism were hampering Pakistan’s development, the president said, adding he feared the spread of Talibanisation beyond FATA to Swat and the southern parts of the North West Frontier Province.
Some groups in Balochistan like the Balochistan Liberation Army had a “separatist tendency”, Musharraf said. “We have to chalk out long-term strategy to address these grave problems.”
Speaking about the new government, the president said it could resolve Pakistan’s problems, including that of terrorism, if there was harmony between the coalition partners.
Musharraf maintained that any change of the previous government’s policies would hinder Pakistan’s development.