Fighting terrorism is top priority: Pakistani PM

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By Zhang Haizhou and Li Xiang (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-10 08:54

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani said yesterday in Beijing that the flight of capital is the biggest challenge facing Islamabad in fighting terrorism.

The country has had to face violence related to rising terrorism in recent years, and the direct threat of Al-Qaida and the Taliban, which usually targets high-profile political figures, such as former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated at the end of last year.

The terrorist threat is destabilizing the economy of Pakistan, said Gillani.

"If there is one bomb blast, people will take money out of Pakistan. Investors are scared," he said.

Fighting terrorism and extremism has been a key priority of Gillani's administration since it took office in late March.

"The priority of my government is to stop terrorism and extremism so that our friends from all over the world who are investing in Pakistan can feel confident," he said.

But terrorism remains a major challenge for the nation, with increasing numbers of lives lost in recent years.

Terrorists killed 907 people and injured 1,543 others in Pakistan in 2006. Last year, 1,503 attacks and clashes resulted in 3,448 casualties, according to a security report from the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies.

Gillani said that a major source of instability was the large number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. More than 3 million have crossed the border to escape chaos in their home country.

Gillani said that a stable Afghanistan is in the interests of Islamabad.

"Because of their presence in Pakistan, there are a lot of complaints about cross-border activities," he told reporters, expressing his hope that the refugees can return home soon.

In order to solve the problem, Pakistan recently started closing Jalozai, a major camp for Afghan refugees near the border, due to fears that remnants of the Taliban had been using it as a hideout.

Pakistan was also reported as wanting to see an additional 2.4 million Afghans return home by the end of next year.

"When there is stability, prosperity and development in Afghanistan, then the refugees will certainly return to their own country," Gillani said.

To help check illegal cross-border movement, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed in June to introduce a biometric control system, which requires the fingerprints of people wanting to cross the frontier.

Gillani said that this measure will help to "identify any militant" crossing the border.

But he said that fully securing the 2,430-km frontier would be an almost impossible task.

"We have established 1,000 checkpoints, but there are only 100 on the other side," he added.

Impressive ceremony

The Pakistani prime minister arrived in Beijing on Friday to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

"It was fabulous and we really enjoyed it," Gillani said.

When asked to predict the performance of Pakistani athletes, he said he thought the country would hopefully win medals in events such as hockey, shooting and swimming.

"But our main purpose is not to win, but to take part," Gillani said.

Impeachment

Pakistan's ruling coalition has called a session of the National Assembly tomorrow after vowing to oust President Pervez Musharraf, a party spokesman said.

"This is the start of the impeachment process," Farhatullah Babar said yesterday.

The coalition, which swept to power after trouncing Musharraf's allies in February elections, announced on Thursday it would seek to impeach the president.

The coalition accused the president of violating the constitution, bringing "Pakistan to a critical economical impasse" during his eight-year rule, and conspiring against their newly elected government.

Agencies contributed to the story