Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has unveiled three-pronged strategy to combat terrorism. In an exclusive interview with Okaz/Saudi Gazette, he said his strategy to fight terrorism was different from that of the United States. It focuses on dialogue with extremists and development of tribal areas. He said use of force was the last resort in this strategy. Explaining the first part of the strategy, the prime minister said the dialogue with the extremists would be limited to only those who surrender and not with those who continue to use terrorism as their strategy. He said the development of tribal areas would be the next step in his fight against terrorism. He lamented that hunger, poverty and disease were rampant in the tribal areas for the last 61 years and no serious attempt has been made by successive governments to combat them. These, he remarked, were actual causes of terrorism and extremism. He said the priority would be given to less developed areas. Gilani said the threat to use force brings better results than the use of force itself. The use of force, he said, has to be kept as deterrence because if force fails, it erodes the authority of the government. The prime minister said the loss of life and property of an ordinary citizen was the most heinous crime. He cited the examples of attacks on schools, shops and other private properties. The safety, security and protection of private property was the foremost duty of the state and that the state should not fail in its duty, he said. The best strategy to fight terrorism and extremism was to isolate terrorists and extremists from the tribal population, he thought. But it requires hard and long drawn struggle. Gilani said the strategy to combat terrorism was different from that of United States in that the top priority here is on political dialogue and economic development of tribal areas. He mentioned the Biden Luger Bill moved in the US Congress by their Foreign Relations Committee to provide economic assistance to the tune of $15 billion for the establishment of economic zones in tribal areas. Talking about Saudi-Pakistan relations, the prime minister mentioned his recent visit to the Kingdom where he got excellent opportunities to talk to the Saudi leadership on ways to promote, protect, and preserve existing relations. He appreciated the feelings of love and affection of the Saudi leadership for the people of Pakistan. Talking about the bilateral economic relations, the prime minister said Pakistan had always attached great value to the Saudi investment in Pakistan and Saudi assistance for deferred payments of Saudi crude oil for Pakistan. Replying to a question, the prime minister said the relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were multi-dimensional and go beyond government-to-government portfolio, he said. The Saudi-Pak relationships are deep-rooted, binding people of both the countries in strong ties of brotherhood, he added. He said Islam is the religion of peace and tolerance and the militants who were out to kill other human beings including Muslims were not serving Islam, rather they were playing in the hands of evil forces and the enemies of Islam. Talking about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Gilani said it was only after the passage of resolution by all four provincial assemblies that the United Nations was requested to probe into the martyrdom of the former prime minister. __
