ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told the National Assembly on Tuesday the federal government would mobilise national resources to help the NWFP overcome what he called a guerilla war.

‘It is a guerilla war, it is not a normal war,’ he said in a brief speech after members from both sides of the house called for more effective measures to fight terrorists in the wake of the suicide bombing in Charsadda.

‘They do not attack openly. They strike stealthily,’ the prime minister said about the perpetrators of terrorist attacks, which he described as a reaction to the capture of their strongholds by the army in Malakand division and South Waziristan.

Referring to the perceived deficiencies of the NWFP authorities in tackling the situation, Mr Gilani said the provincial government alone could not do it.

He called for a revival of the kind of nationwide support given to the military operation against militants in Malakand earlier this year and said no effort would be spared to enhance the provincial government’s capacity.

‘We will use the resources of the whole country to help the provincial government,’ he said.

On the initiative of Speaker Fehmida Mirza, several members from both the ruling coalition and opposition benches paid tribute to poet Allama Iqbal.