Musharraf praises Sharon as “courageous” for Gaza Withdrawal
Pakistan Times Monitoring Desk

RAWALPINDI: President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Friday praised Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as “courageous” for ordering the withdrawal of Jewish settlements from Gaza.

Musharraf said he was encouraged by Sharon’s actions, but that he was not planning to meet with the Israeli leader on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York that both men will attend later this month.

“I think such actions need courage and boldness,” Musharraf said of the Gaza withdrawal, in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press. “What we have seen on the TV, Israelis not wanting to leave, being forced out, is a courageous thing to do.

Palestinian State

“We hope that he shows (an) equal amount of courage finally in the creation of the Palestinian state.”

Musharraf’s comments follow a landmark meeting between the foreign ministers of Pakistan and Israel in Turkey last week, the first formal high-level contact between the Islamic and Jewish states, which fueled speculation of a possible summit in New York.

“Why should there be a rush?” Musharraf said about meeting Sharon. “We are clear in our stance. We want to progress toward resolution of the Palestinian dispute, and as progress is made, Pakistan would like to keep its reviewing its diplomatic stance.”

“I can’t really give a cut line,” he said about when formal ties could be established, “but I’m always a believer in reacting before events, of foreseeing events and reacting accordingly ... I don’t believe in reaction, I believe in action.”

War on Terror to Continue till Victory

And while addressing the National Security Council (NSC) meeting in Islamabad, the President said that relentless and sustained efforts would continue at all levels till such time the country was rid of the scourge of terrorism, extremism and sectarianism.

He, however, said global fight against terrorism could not be won without addressing decades-old unresolved political disputes including Palestine and Kashmir in a just manner. He said these issues are root causes of terrorism.

Opposition Leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman and NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani boycotted while all other members including Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz attended the meeting.

President Musharraf underscored the need for addressing the root causes of terrorism and addressing unresolved political disputes including Palestine and Kashmir in a just manner.

Basis for Terrorism

The President said extremism forms the basis for terrorism and spoke at length on both short and long-term measures being taken by the government to curb extremist tendencies.

The short-term measures include banning of militant organizations and not allowing them to operate under different names, action against publications spreading hate, and misuse of loudspeakers in places of worship.

The long-term measures include Madaris reforms, improvement of syllabi and the need for a national and international discourse.

Pakistan, he said, being an ideological Islamic state is eminently qualified to lead the way by projecting the true spirit of the great religion Islam, not only internally but also among the Ummah and international community.

The President and the Prime Minister stressed the need for the implementation of wide-ranging reforms in all facets in order to meet the challenges of modern times.

These reforms should be aimed at attaining self-emancipation through the promotion of knowledge and progress.

They highlighted the need for promoting tolerance and respect for diverse points of view so that the vast majority of moderates could be strengthened in the country. The two leaders praised the performance of law enforcement personnel in the campaign against terrorism.

They reiterated the firm commitment of the government to pursuing the campaign till success is achieved. Prime Minister Aziz said all necessary funds and assistance would be made available to law enforcement agencies and personnel to improve their capacity and make them more effective in realizing the tasks given to them.

Security Imperatives

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao briefed the participants in detail on internal security imperatives, with particular focus on the strategy to eliminate terrorism, sectarianism and extremism from the country.

He spelt out initiatives taken by the government in line with the president’s policy of using a multi-faceted strategy of dealing terrorism with force and a more extensive strategy to bring about a societal change with a view to denying extremists a place within civil society.

He said reform of the society continues to remain a top priority of the government since October 1999 and major strides have been made to root out extremism, militancy and sectarianism.

The steps taken include: (i) ban on display and brandishing of weapons, (ii) banning of militant organizations, (iii) promulgation of Anti-Terrorist Act, (iv) setting up of counter-terrorism structures, (v) establishment of intelligence coordination committee and finally, (vi) the formation of a comprehensive anti-terrorism strategy.

He said standard operating procedures on monitoring of banned organizations protection of foreigners, dealing with suicide attacks, capacity building of criminal investigation and regulation of Madaris were also in place and being implemented.

The interior minister also briefed the participants about certain other measures that are indirectly contributing towards eliminating terrorism, such as immigration control measures, automated finger printing system, police reforms, Nadra, and machine readable passports.

He said the campaign against extremism, sectarianism and terrorism had received a fresh impetus following the president’s directives to police officers on July 5 and address to the nation on July-21 this year.

He updated the participants on the steps taken against banned organizations, printing, publication and distribution of hate literature, collection of funds and misuse of loud speakers in mosques and places of worship and the progress made in this regard.●