ISLAMABAD: President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari says the offensive in tribal regions that shelter Taliban fighters will press on until all the country’s militants are wiped out, an apparent reaction to US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s warning that al-Qaida also needs to be targeted.

President Zardari, speaking Friday to members of his Pakistan People’s Party, said the offensive ‘was imperative and there was no turning back from it until the complete elimination of the militants,’ according to a statement from his office.

Clinton said during a visit to Pakistan this week that once the South Waziristan operation was finished, Pakistan would have to ‘try to root out other terrorist groups, or we’re going to be back facing the same threats.’—AP