September 06, 2008	Saturday	Ramazan 05, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Sept 5: Members of the Senate urged the government on Friday to resume dialogue with militants in the tribal region and extremist elements in Swat, saying that use of force had never solved a problem.

Continuing the debate on an adjournment motion, they expressed astonishment over air strikes in Bajaur and Swat after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s return from Washington, recalling that leaders of the ruling coalition had decided to give negotiations precedence over use of force.

Prof Khurshid Ahmed, of Jamaat-i-Islami, rejected the government’s policy on the war against terrorism and said use of force was not a solution.

He underlined the need for taking parliament on board in formulating a policy on extremism and terrorism, stressing that the two should be treated separately. He said the issues had been mixed up by the West to brand Muslims as radicals and extremists.

“What we need is to define who is a terrorist and punish him by fulfilling the legal requirements rather than waging a war.”

He said surveys conducted in the United States and Pakistan showed that the people had rejected the war being waged in the name of terrorism.

The Jamaat leader said that while Pakistan had deployed about 120,000 troops along the Afghan border, there were no more than 34,000 soldiers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation on the other side.

He said only two dozen US soldiers had been killed in the region while more than 1,000 Pakistani security personnel had laid down their lives since 2001.

Senator Azam Swati of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) said no parliament in the country’s history had been allowed to function as a sovereign body and formulate a national security strategy in accordance with the aspirations of the people.

He said US policies were aimed at changing the map of Pakistan and grabbing natural resources of the region.

He said national security and integrity could be in danger if the government failed to resolve domestic disputes on a war footing.