Poppy growth must be stopped: Zardari

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By Zhang Haizhou and Li Xiang (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-18 09:27

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said in Beijing on Friday eradicating poppy growth, used in opium production, is the key to fighting terrorism.

"It is one of the major problems because it finances terrorism," Zardari told China Daily.

"People who grow poppy should be persuaded to grow something else."

Poppy is mostly grown in areas bordering Afghanistan, reportedly the bases of Al-Qaida and Taliban militants.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari (L) shakes hands with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing October 16, 2008. Zardari arrived on Tuesday for his first visit to China as president. [Agencies]

Zardari said farmers in those regions should plant corn to take advantage of rising prices sparked by the burgeoning US ethanol industry.

He said planting corn could give them the same returns they get from opium.

Zardari said his government will encourage investment in the troubled regions, and try and win more preferential treatment for their products in the US market.

"We are looking for a dialogue when the new US administration comes into being. And we are going to work firmly for the signing of a FTA for these regions," he said.

Zardari also stressed that terrorism in his homeland was their "own problem", and not that of the US.

"It is basically our own war. It has been wrongly described as America's war," Zardari said.

His wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was killed in a bombing last year.

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

The Pentagon said earlier this month that the United States had the right to hit terrorist targets inside Pakistan. Cross-border US raids have strained ties with Pakistan.

Before returning home on Friday, the Pakistani president said more Chinese investment will be important to help his country get through its current economic hardship.

"I will try to attract more Chinese companies to come to Pakistan," Zardari said.

He said more Chinese investment will not only benefit Pakistan, but also "convert this financial weakness the world is facing into an opportunity for both sides".