Terrorism is spawned by al-Qaeda, foreign terrorists and some elements of Taliban, and Pakistan must get rid of them, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday.
Musharraf made the remarks at a TV program at the President's House here on Thursday.
Although the army was mainly for meeting the external threats but it was also the duty of the army to counter the internal threats, Musharraf said.
He added that the army could be withdrawn from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) if there was an assurance that all foreign terrorists would leave the area and there was a complete end to militancy.
Musharraf vowed that Pakistan would not be allowed to become a soft state where foreign terrorists could seek a safe haven.
He said a holistic strategy was pursued to counter extremism and combat terrorism, and there were some misguided elements opposing the government's policy to make Pakistan a secure and prosperous country.
A four-pronged strategy had been adopted in dealing with the malaise. Terrorism was being dealt with a strong military force while extremism tackled through a prudent approach, Musharraf said, adding that a political strategy was aimed at weaning away the people from extremists and isolating them, coupled with administrative and development steps to overcome the menace of extremism and terrorism.
Musharraf warned that obscurantist views were spilling over into the settled districts which must be stopped.
Source: Xinhua
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