October 9, 2003	Thursday	Sha’aban 12, 1424

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RAWALPINDI, Oct 8: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has said that nobody will be allowed to misuse Pakistan’s territory for carrying out extremist activities within the country or against any other state.

He was speaking to a delegation of parliamentarians from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), which called on him here on Wednesday.

The tribal leadership, he hoped, would help identify and apprehend any extremists seeking refuge in their area.

The president them that the troops would take care that the local people faced no difficulties during operations against the extremists.

The delegation assured the president of “wholehearted and all-out cooperation by all tribes in the operations against extremists and foreign elements trying to hide in Fata”.

They hoped that there would be a greater coordination between the troops operating there and the local leadership and that the people of those areas would not face difficulties on this account.

“There is absolutely no concept of extremism or terrorism in Islam,” they were quoted by a government handout to have told the president.

The lawmakers from Fata expressed their support for the reforms initiated by the government in the tribal belt and appreciated the president’s initiatives for construction of water reservoirs.

President Musharraf reassured the MPs that the development projects would continue in the tribal areas for socio-economic progress of the local populace.

The president hoped that the tribal people would continue to play their role in the development of the country.

He reiterated his resolve not to allow anybody to misuse Pakistan’s territory for carrying out extremist activities within the country or against any other country.

He hoped that a committee headed by NWFP Governor Iftikhar Hussain Shah would amicably sort out problems regarding electricity issues.

The MPs invited the president to visit the tribal areas and address a jirga to inform the people about the steps being taken by the government for bringing Fata into the mainstream of national life.

The delegation comprised senators Malik Ajmal Khan, Engineer Rashid Ahmed, Mian Sajj Hussain, Tahir Iqbal Orakzai, Pir Abdul Malik Qadri and Maulana Ghulam Siddique; and MNAs Haji Munir Orakzai, Dr Javed Hussain, Dr Ghazi Ghulab Jamal, Pir Noorul Haq Qadir and Nasir Afridi.