No immunity for those who commit acts of Terror Anywhere: Pakistan
'Pakistan Times' US Bureau Report

WASHINGTON (US): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has firmly ruled out any possibility for terrorists carving out a safe haven in Pakistan.

"This notion that anybody who has a record as a terrorist will get safe haven -- we will not even think of doing that," he told Cable News Network in an interview.

Prime Minister Aziz stated there is no immunity for anybody who has committed acts of terror anywhere in the world.

"Anybody who is wanted or is a terrorist or has committed acts of terror anywhere in the world and is wanted, there is no immunity for such people," the Prime Minister said.

The channel beamed Prime Minister's comments at the start of a discussion on the recent peace agreement in a part of the tribal areas.

The Prime Minister described the deal with tribal elders as "very wise".

Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Mahmud Ali Durrani, speaking live in the programme, also stressed that there is no possibility at all for al-qaeda operatives or the Taliban having a sanctuary in Pakistan.

He stated that the country is on an intense hunt for terrorists including Osama bin Laden.

Commenting on the recent peace agreement in North Waziristan, he emphasized that Pakistan would never allow a safe haven for terrorists in the tribal areas.

Explaining the deal, he said, under it there would be no cross-border movement and there would be no terrorist organizations either.

He, however, made it clear that 'active terrorists' would not be let off.

Responding to a question, the envoy said Pakistan army Spokesman has not only been 'misquoted but grossly misquoted' in an ABC News report on the issue.

The CNN, in its discussion on the issue, also quoted the White House officials saying that 'it is simply not true that this deal could give Osama bin Laden or any other al-qaeda member a free pass and that the Pakistani official's comments were inaccurately reported' by the ABC news.

"The White House officials add that they are confident that Pakistan will keep hunting for bin Laden," the CNN observed.

The envoy informed the news network that Pakistan has launched the new three-pronged strategy as sometimes single channel is not good enough.

Replying to a question, Ambassador Durrani said Pakistan has a very strong army and it does not need foreign forces on its soil in search of terror operatives.

In response to a question about Osama bin Laden, he said if the al-qaeda chief is captured alive, he would be put to justice.●