Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf Thursday said relentless and sustained efforts would continue at all levels till the country is rid from the scourge of terrorism, extremism and sectarianism, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan.

Musharraf made these remarks while presiding over a meeting of the National Security Council, which Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and members of the council attended.

Musharraf said extremism forms the basis for terrorism and spoke at length on both short- and long-term measures to curb extremist tendencies.

In the short term, the measures include banning of militant organizations and not allowing them to operate under different names, action against publications spreading hate, misuse of loudspeakers in places of worship, while in the long-term, the measures include religious schools' reforms, improvement of syllabi and the need for a national and international discourse, said the president.

Musharraf also underscored the need for addressing the root causes of terrorism and said the fight against this menace could not be won without addressing unresolved political disputes including Palestine and Kashmir in a just manner.

Both Musharraf and Prime Minister Aziz praised the performance of law enforcement personnel in the campaign against terrorism. They reiterated the firm commitment of the government to pursuing the campaign till success was achieved.

The participants of the meeting were briefed in detail by the Federal Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on internal security imperatives, with particular focus on the strategy to eliminate terrorism, sectarianism and extremism from the country.

Source: Xinhua