BEIJING: President Asif Ali Zardari has said the government is pursuing a three-pronged strategy to counter terrorism.He expressed these views in an interview given to Chinese journalists on Monday at the President House in Islamabad that was published here on Tuesday.
Zardari said the fight against terrorism could not be won with guns and bombs only and it must be multi-faceted. The government was pursuing a three-pronged strategy to counter terrorism and Pakistan was taking political, economic and military measures to find the short- and long-term solution to the problem, he said. The president said the war on terror was becoming difficult because of the limited resources of Pakistan.
He said terrorism was a challenge to the society, the way of life and the state of Pakistan, adding that it was a situation Pakistan had to face. Referring to the situation in the northwestern and tribal regions, Zardari said: “The life of the people is not normal. So, the first responsibility of the government is peace.”
He said the first challenge was to provide the people security and Pakistan was “coming up with the special package” to enhance its capability. “In the past, the capability has not been properly enhanced on the civil side to take on this challenge,” he said, adding that Pakistan needed civilian forces and police forces to be strong enough. He said Pakistan was upgrading its resources and forces in the fight against terrorism. “We intend to make sure that all such challenges are minimised at the earliest,” he said.