Menace Of Militancy: Criticism is counter-productive, says Zardari

President Asif Ali Zardari says public criticism of Pakistan’s role undermines the common struggle against militancy.

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari said on Friday that public criticism of Pakistan’s role undermines the common struggle against militancy in the region. He underscored the importance of enhanced consultations between Pakistan and the United States on the basis of mutual respect. “Our people and the leadership are among the first ones to fully realise and comprehend the threat posed by violent mindset which is bred on the premises of deprivation and fuelled by sense of inequality,” the president told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who met him along with a high-level delegation, at the Presidency. During the one-on-one and delegation-level meetings, the two sides discussed a host of issues relating to Pak-US relations, fight against militancy, regional situation with particular reference to the situation obtaining in Afghanistan. The president recounted innumerable human sacrifices rendered by Pakistan in the fight against militancy and extremism. Thirty thousand innocent civilians, along with 5,000 military and police officers, have laid down their lives for the cause of securing their lands from the clutches of militant mindset.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2011.