Pak won't allow country's territory to be violated by friends

New York, Sept 25 (PTI) With the incidents of cross-border raids mounting in Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari has emphatically stated that the country's territory and sovereignty will not be allowed to be violated by "friends".

"Attacks that violate our sovereignty actually serve
to empower the forces against which we mutually fight,"
Zardari, who is on his first visit to United States after
assuming office, wrote in 'Boston Globe'.

Depicting the war on terror as an "epic battle",
Zardari counseled that this fight must be carried out together
"as allies and as partners".

Expressing that Pakistan had reached a "critical
cross-road", the President said the current struggle against
the terrorists would determine the future of the country.

Zardari said his country was committed to not allowing
its territory to be used by terrorists for attacks on "our
people and neighbours".

He described the fight against terrorism as
"Pakistan's war", saying his country was its greatest victim.

Seeking to assure the American public, the Pakistan
President said his country's forces were confronting the
terrorist threat in tribal areas as well as in the cities.

"Soldiers are arrayed in the field against the Taliban
and al-Qaeda, and last month our fighter jets killed 600 enemy
fighters," he wrote in the column.

But, he made it clear that the fight against Islamic
radicals like al-Qaeda and Taliban cannot be fought by
"military means alone".

Zardari said fighting terrorism also required
political will, popular mobilisation and a socioeconomic
strategy that wins the hearts and minds of the people.

"These people (terrorists) need to be given a concrete
stake in the country's emerging democracy and economic
infrastructure," he said.

"The battleground must be economic and social as well
as military. We will win when people are mobilized against the
fanatics. To mobilize them we have to give them hope and
opportunity for their future. They need jobs. Their children
need education. They must be fed. They must have energy," he
wrote.

"An economically viable Pakistan will be a secure
Pakistan, and a secure Pakistan is the greatest asset in the
world's fight against terrorism. A stable and economically
viable Pakistan will suck the oxygen from the terrorist
agenda. Economic justice and political democracy are the
terrorists' worst nightmares," Zardari said.

Citing the sacrifices made by his slain wife Benazir,
he said "Terrorism took Benazir's life. But the terrorist
cannot kill my wife's dream". PTI ETB