ISLAMABAD, Aug 18: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Friday declared that the country’s cities had ‘generally’ been cleansed of terrorists but stressed that a strategy was needed to deal with extremism because it required a change in the mindset.

Launching the National Public Safety Commission (NPSC), the president praised the police and other law-enforcement agencies for ‘neutralising’ terrorist networks and unearthing terror plots.

He said that since 9/11 the country’s police department had lost its 400 men in action against terrorists.

The president said that about 140 terrorists had been killed in the past five years during operations conducted by security agencies, adding that some 600 foreigners and 500 sectarian terrorists had been arrested. He termed it a big achievement.

He described extremism as the greatest danger facing the nation and said it must be countered with strong hands. “Terrorism has also to be met with force and law-enforcement agencies are doing a great job to tackle it, but a strategy is needed to deal with extremism as it involves change in the mindset.

“In case of crimes like car-snatching an individual suffers but if we don’t control extremism, the entire nation will suffer,” he pointed out.

Gen Musharraf said the government had outlawed extremist organisations, issued a list of some 400 leaders of these outfits and identified 89 books and pamphlets to stop the preaching of hatred and violence.