Several important al-Qaida members have been killed in military operations in Pakistan's tribal region, the country's interior minister said on Monday.

Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao told the Senate Monday evening that the Pakistani government had the list of the foreign militants who were arrested and killed in Waziristan and only recently 29 foreign militants were arrested which proved their presence in the areas.

He said that Sheikh Abdur Rehamn al-Mesri, Abdul Shoaib Samarkandi and Hamza Rabi were among the al-Qaida important men killed during the operations.

Earlier opposition senators criticized the military operations in Waziristan and blamed the government for the law and order problem in the tribal region. They opposed the use of force and urged the government to find out a solution through dialogue.

Sherpao said that the government was only taking action against the foreign militants who had taken refuge in the tribal areas. " These foreign militants were repeatedly asked to surrender with the assurance to live peacefully in the area. But not a single foreign militant surrendered and registered himself with the government leading to action to flush them from the area," he said.

The minister said that law enforcing agencies only responded when fired upon and several personnel were killed by the miscreants. He said that the government had ensured that there was minimum collateral damage as a result of action against the miscreants. He said that Pakistan would never allow its soil to be used for acts of terrorism against any country.

Sherpao said the Senate must condemn through a resolution the acts of terrorism in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan and to maintain law and order in both areas.

Source: Xinhua