May 28, 2008	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 22, 1429

ISLAMABAD, May 27: Terrorism is a serious challenge to Pakistan and no country on its own can completely clamp down on it or defeat it, according to Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Tariq Majid.

“There are no quick fixes,” he said.

Addressing participants of the Armed Forces War Course, National Defence Course and Allied Officers War Course at the National Defence University on ‘Pakistan’s role in combating terrorism’ here on Tuesday,

he stressed that only strategic “patience and trust-based collaborative approach by the comity of nations can help win this war”.

“Therefore, viewing counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency in its regional dimension, we must harmonise policies and shore up coordination for implementation rather than pursuing incompatible approaches.”

He said that the government had worked out a four-pronged strategy for dealing with militancy, combining application of force, political measures, socio-economic development and revitalisation of civil administration.

He said terrorism figured ‘most prominently in Pakistan’s security calculus today’.

Gen Majid stressed greater focus on winning hearts and minds through “political and socio-economic mainstreaming” of violence-hit areas.

He said that although broad-based development was vital, literacy, greater political involvement of local population and providing them incentives for economic activities were necessary to change the mindset and developing stakes of the people in ensuring security.

Highlighting Pakistan’s counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency efforts, Gen Majid said that the current manifestation of militancy should be viewed in its historical perspective.

Earlier, president of the National Defence University Lieut-Gen Hamid Khan welcomed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.