LONDON, Nov 9: Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan has called upon the European Union, in particular, Britain to expedite and upgrade their investments in various development projects in Fata, in addition to launching capacity building programmes for institutions.

He was speaking on Saturday at the Wilton Park Conference on “Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas: Options for a More Coordinated Policy Approach”.

“We would also like to see an expeditious materialisation of the Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) initiative,” he said.

Stating that Pakistan was at war in Fata against the extremists and terrorists, he said Islamabad was working on a three-pronged strategy to win this war.

“First we give priority to ‘dialogues’. Second step is ‘development’, by which we would be able to win their hearts and third step is ‘deterrence’, when we would be compelled to take action in case someone challenges the writ of the government,” he said.

Warning that the drone attacks in Fata were threatening to undo what had already been achieved in this difficult war, he asked Pakistan’s allies to be more sensitive to the country’s concerns “and should rather put their faith in the professional competence of Pakistan’s armed forces in taking actions by themselves in the tribal areas”.

“It requires long-term commitment and extensive resources. The government of Pakistan needs to be helped to implement its developmental projects in the area.

“An economically viable Pakistan will be the centrepiece of the victory of pluralism. Our partners can help us in sharing credible and actionable intelligence.

“The international community has a great chance in supporting the democratic government in Pakistan to pursue a comprehensive policy in Fata.

“Now we have a strong democratic government. It has to clear pile of backlog of socio-economic problems inherited from a dictatorship that have crippled Pakistan’s economy. “Predominantly it has to fight a war on terrorism — yet another legacy of the past policy of the rulers who had taken their western supporters for a ride by running with the hare and hunting with the hound.”

Interestingly, perhaps for the first time ever the international community heard a Pakistani official calling NWFP as Pakhtunkhwa as the HC introduced the province as such at the very outset of his speech.