Pakistan not Backtracking from fight on Terrorism: Musharraf
Pakistan Times Foreign Desk

STOCKHOLM (Sweden): Reiterating Pakistan's firm resolve to root out terrorism, President General Pervez Musharraf said on Monday that the country is combating the menace in accordance with demands of the environment and not at all backtracking from its counter-terrorism drive.

"We are not backtracking, nothing of the sort is happening, we are strongly determined to fight off the menace - we are determined to eliminate Al-Qaeda from Pakistan," he said.

In-depth

Addressing a gathering of Swedish leaders, Parliamentarians, intellectuals and opinion-makers at the Stockholm School of Economics Monday evening, the President said Pakistan is dealing with terrorists in Wana in the tribal areas in accordance with the environment.

"The views about our backtracking are mis-placed - our fight has three dimensions, we are operating at military level to achieve short-term results, then we are dealing with the problem politically, and thirdly also bringing about development in the tribal areas to root out the menace in the long-term."

"There should be no doubt about Pakistan's fight against terrorism, we will continue the fight against terrorism with strength in all dimensions," he explained.

The Wana Operation

Musharraf informed the Swedish leaders that there is only one sub-tribe which is abetting al-Qaeda-linked terrorists in one agency, South Waziristan, of the tribal areas while tribesmen of all other agencies of the tribally administered areas support the Government's drive.

"We have to act at the roots of terrorism, we don't want this menace to spread to other parts of the country."

Pakistan, the President said, joined the international coalition in the fight against terrorism in its own national interests and has contributed vitally to the international efforts against the menace, capturing around 600 terrorists.

Addresses Business Community

While addressing a select group of business executives at a dinner hosted in his honour by a leading Swedish firm AB Group, President Musharraf urged the Swedish entrepreneurs to take advantage of Pakistan's business-friendly policies and invest in different areas.

Musharraf spoke of the several measures taken by the Government to attract foreign investment in Pakistan and said the investors are free to take home full profit and dividends.

He appreciated the involvement of 18 Swedish companies working in different fields in Pakistan and said he was looking forward to further investment from Swedish investors.

"Pakistan is proceeding ahead with full privatisation of state-owned entities and has started the process of deregulations," he said.

Full Protection

The President said the foreign investors have been provided with complete protection of their capital.

Musharraf said the establishment of the Gwadur port will provide easy link to the Central and South Asia countries and the Middle East.

He said the Gwadur has been given the special status of open port, adding that tax and duty free zones will be established for the benefit of the investors.

Invites for Privatization Process

The President invited the Swedish entrepreneurs to take part in the privatization process being initiated in Pakistan and said state-owned bodies such as OGDC, Pakistan State Oil and Regional Electrical Companies were being deregulated.

Pakistan being an agararian country, he said, is home to some of the best fruits in the world which has tremendous scope for export. He said the Swedish companies could participate in the development of food processing through their modern technology.

Meeting with Ericsson Chief

And during his meeting with Ericsson chief, the President Pervez Musharraf on Monday called for more foreign investment in Pakistan particularly in the Telecommunication and IT sectors.

Talking to Karl Henrik Sundstorm, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Ericsson who called on him at his hotel Monday morning, the President appreciated the company's presence in Pakistan and said there was a need for it to diversify in other areas.

Cellular Phone Technology

Musharraf informed the Ericsson Chief that Telecom was opening up in a big way in Pakistan and a lot of opportunities exist for foreign investment particularly in cellular phone technology.

President Musharraf said Pakistan has already taken a number of initiatives for the spread of cellular phones and new companies were also opening up and investing in this sector.

Sigrid Kahle Meets Musharraf

Earlier, a renowned Swedish writer Ms Sigrid Kahle also called on the President and presented her autobiography which contains many pages about her stay in Pakistan.

Ms. Kahle is married to a German diplomat and stayed in Pakistan in the early 50's and took keen interest in the fields of education and arts.●