Political ownership of war on terror stressed

ISLAMABAD, March 31: Pakistan cannot overcome terrorism completely unless the parliament and civil society take ownership of the problem, speakers said at a debate session on Thursday. The session, organised by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), was attended by political analysts, former military officers, journalists and intellectuals, and a delegation from International Center for Counter Terrorism (ICCT), The Hague. The participants believed that dealing with militancy through military means only will bring about temporary respite. They said the political leadership has not yet come up with a clear counter-terrorism strategy. Malik Amad Khan, former minister of state for foreign affairs, however, said the terrorists have been dented by effective military strategy. He was confident that the situation will improve in the days to come. The minister told the ICCT delegation that the Afghan conflict and the outstanding issues like Kashmir and Palestine and the decisions in France and Belgium to ban face veil for Muslim women give birth to extremist feelings in Muslim countries. Lt General (retired) Masood Aslam, former corps commander Peshawar, said a significant portion of the population believes that Pakistan`s cooperation with the United States on the war on terror has created many militancy-related problems in the country. "Political deprivation, unemployment and poverty have to be addressed to control militancy," the general stressed.