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Gilani for patience to launch new offensive against militants
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has reiterated “not to be in a rush” in launching new offensives in the country’s border areas, and said focus will be on first holding the territory captured from the militants.“We have to hold areas first and we should not be in a rush. We have to consolidate,” the Prime Minister said in response to a question regarding the next steps in war against terrorism, in an interview with media.
Prime Minister Gilani said, “It’s up to the military and political leadership to think about how to proceed and when to go to other areas.”
He said one of his priorities was working on an “exit strategy” for military forces that had taken swaths of territory held by Taliban militants in Malakand, Swat and South Waziristan.
He acknowledged success in arresting “high-value targets”, but warned against expanding the military front in spite of rare unity in Pakistan, with “the civil and political leadership and military leadership on the same page”.
In what he described as a “guerrilla war”, militants were now moving into some of the country’s most densely populated areas, such as Punjab province, after being dislodged from their mountain strongholds.
“When you are controlling their strongholds, they are moving towards settled areas,” he said. “In settled areas, they feel more secure because of the population. In the strongholds they have been taken over and now they are on the run.”
On the Pak-US strategic dialogue, the Prime Minister said it would prove as a right way in improving relations and removing mistrust between the two countries.
Courtesy www.Geo.tv