Archives

ISLAMABAD, May 12 (Reuters) - Pakistani military ruler General Pervez Musharraf has called off a three-nation Maghreb trip so he could personally oversee a national "fight against terrorism", the government said overnight.

A government statement, quoted by the official APP news agency, said the May 15-21 trip to Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, which was announced only on Friday, was put off "on account of the recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan".

The statement said President Musharraf, while chairing an inter-provincial meeting on law and order on Saturday "decided to postpone the visit to provide personal guidance and leadership to the nation's fight against terrorism, both international and domestic".

The announcement came three days after a suicide car bomb attack in the port city of Karachi killed 14 people, including 11 Frenchmen, and follows a wave of deadly shootings blamed on militants from rival Islamic sects.

Local media reported that Saturday's meeting decided to raise a special investigation force to combat terrorism and ordered a crackdown on illegal immigrants.

The government statement quoted Musharraf as saying his government was "determined to protect the life and property of every Pakistani and of every foreigner living in Pakistan.

"It was with this resolve that President Musharraf decided to stay at home as the federal and provincial law-enforcement machinery puts up a massive and coordinated effort to track down terrorists," it said.

Musharraf's trip, during which he was to hold talks on regional and world issues with Morocco's King Mohammed VI and presidents Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria and Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, would have been his first foreign visit after winning a controversial referendum to extend his rule for five years.

Along with the three countries Musharraf was to visit, the Maghreb group of north African, Arab countries includes Libya and Mauritania.

Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless army coup in 1999, held a referendum on April 30 to extend his presidency for five more years, ahead of parliamentary elections he has promised to hold in October.

Most mainstream parties boycotted the referendum in which the government's election commission said Musharraf won with a yes vote of more than 97 percent. 

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager