By Xinhua
Islamabad : Pakistan has adopted a comprehensive three-point strategy to address militancy and terrorism in the country, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Friday.
“The government of Pakistan has a comprehensive strategy to address militancy and terrorism and our strategy has three broad elements: political, socio-economic and military,” Qureshi told the official APP news agency.
“We believe that military action alone will not be effective in permanently ending the phenomenon of terrorism,” he said. “We are reaching out to the tribal leaders and notables as part of the political element of our overall strategy in fight against terrorism.”
The political engagement is possible only with those who renounce militancy and violence, do not allow the use of Pakistan’s territory against any other country and do not help foreign terrorist elements find hideouts inside the country, he added.
Qureshi also underlined that as opposed to the past, the federal government was negotiating from the position of strength.
“A strong implementation mechanism is part of these negotiations and peace in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) will ensure access to the government to engage in socio-economic development of the area,” he said.
“History suggests that use of force alone can lead to self-perpetuating violence. However, the determination to use force, wherever required, remains an important element of our strategy,” he stressed.
“We firmly believe that our focused and determined efforts, which have a combination of political, socio-economic and military elements, will lead to permanent end to militancy,” he added.