Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan has reaffirmed Pakistan s commitment to fight terrorism and rejected the suggestions of a pause in the country s counterterrorism campaign against terrorists on its border with Afghanistan. He also told critics of the key US ally s counterterrorism efforts to be patient and understanding of Pakistan s comprehensive policy to curb and contain the menace of extremism in the long-term perspective. There is no pause as the deployments are there - so I don t think there is that kind of a pause in the policy, he stated at an interaction hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, according to the state run Associated Press of Pakistan. He highlighted Pakistan s anti-terror efforts, recounting that the country has deployed close to 100,000 troops in the tribal areas and has lost 1000 of troops. This shows the seriousness of the effort and seriousness of the challenge. You cannot expect in these kinds of situations a solution overnight - you have to remain engaged, you have to try the economic approach, the political approach, administrative approach, if there are setbacks, they should not daunt you at all, Khan said. He added: We have to persevere because there is no option to success - but success will not come overnight and it is a long-term engagement. The foreign secretary said Pakistan s resolve and determination is foremost for the good of our own society, for the progress and development of our society.
