Pak Punjab Govt. has ‘woken up’ to terror threat: Qureshi
June 9th, 2010 - 5:42 pm ICT by ANI
Istanbul, Jun.9 (ANI): Admitting that the Punjab government was living in a state of denial over the ever expanding terror threat, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the provincial government has now ‘woken up’ to the ground realities.
Talking to media persons on the sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence building measures in Asia (CICA) here, Qureshi said the recent terror strikes in Punjab had served as a big jolt for the local administration, following which they now admit that terrorists are trying to regroup in the region.
“I think some major incidents have taken place in Lahore and woken the Punjab government up. I think they are coming out of the denial that they were living in,” The News quoted Qureshi, as saying.
Responding to a question, he said the Pakistan government’s next priority in the fight against Taliban is the volatile tribal region of North Waziristan, and that the security forces were moving towards the troubled region in a “calculated fashion.”
“Our next priority is going to be North Waziristan but we have to time our operations in line with our resources. At the moment we are consolidating our position in South Waziristan,” Qureshi said.
During his stay in Istanbul, Qureshi also met his Afghan counterpart Dr. Zalwai Rassoul, and when asked whether India’s presence in Afghanistan was still worrying Islamabad, he maintained that New Delhi’s greater role would remain an issue for his country.
“The security challenges that Afghanistan faces can be helped more by Pakistan than India can help them. So, I think that an exaggerated presence would not be in order,” Qureshi said. (ANI)
- Pak will launch NWA operation at own discretion, not under external pressure: Qureshi - Oct 31, 2010
- Afghanistan seeks Indian equipment for security forces (Roundup) - May 01, 2012
- Afghanistan seeks Indian equipment for security forces (Lead) - May 01, 2012
- Pak to act against Taliban sanctuaries per its own timeline, not US pressure: Qureshi - Oct 25, 2010
- Taliban tenacity, ineffective governance negating Pak army gains in S.Waziristan - Nov 20, 2010
- India to share views on Afghanistan at CICA summit in Istanbul - Jun 07, 2010
- Pakistan may delay Taliban operation - Nov 22, 2010
- India, Afghanistan to ensure terrorists are denied safe havens - Aug 25, 2010
- Pak welcomes Manmohan Singh's `visionary' Kashmir offer - Jun 08, 2010
- Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan to discuss war on terror - Jun 07, 2010
- Karzai castigates Pakistan for providing refuge to terrorists - Sep 16, 2010
- Anand Sharma to attend 3rd CICA Summit in Istanbul - Jun 06, 2010
- Pak would not allow expansion of US drone strikes: Qureshi - Dec 23, 2009
- India to convey concerns about Taliban to Afghanistan - Aug 23, 2010
- With Pakistan in mind, Delhi and Kabul seal strategic pact - Oct 05, 2011
Tags: confidence building, ground realities, jolt, lahore, local administration, major incidents, media persons, mehmood, north waziristan, pakistan government, provincial government, punjab government, punjab govt, rassoul, security challenges, sidelines, south waziristan, state of denial, terror strikes, terror threat