In the face of insurgency:

Pakistani parties vow to unite

PAKISTAN: Pakistan’s major political and religious parties Monday vowed to unite the nation in the face of insurgency in the country’s northwest.

The All Parties Conference (APC) attended by around 40 parties called for the collective struggle to combat extremism and terrorism.

The APC, presided by Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, adopted a resolution reaffirming its commitment to preserve, protect and defend the constitution and sovereignty of the country.

The APC condemned US drone attacks inside Pakistan and slammed violation of the country’s political, economic and territorial sovereignty.

The conference also asserted that conditional US economic or military aid to Pakistan would be counter productive.

Briefing reporters about proceedings of the APC, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the conference reaffirmed that Pakistan’s nuclear assets were under effective command and control authority.

It asserted that the strategic decision regarding military issues including troops deployment were sole prerogative of the country.

It emphasized the need to establish and maintain the writ of the state and ensure safety, welfare and rehabilitation of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in their respective areas.

The participants condemned all violent challenges to the constitution and the state and expressed grief for the killing of security personnel and innocent civilians.

It maintained that the safety and security of civilian was paramount and it should be ensured that minimum harm was caused to the non-combatant civilian population.

Kairo said that the military operation was launched as a last resort following gross violations of the Swat accord by militants, who challenged the writ of the state.

He said that there were clear instructions by the government and the armed forces that the operation should be targeted so as to minimize the collateral damage. He said that every possible effort was made to isolate the militants and then target them during the operation.

He explained that what was going on in Swat and Malakand was not terrorism but insurgency and it was duty of the government to protect life and properties of the citizens.

Islamabad, Tuesday, Xinhua