WASHINGTON, April 30: Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has said that Pakistan will not negotiate with terrorists, but will continue its efforts to persuade Fata tribes to withdraw their support to the insurgents.

In an article published in the Washington Post on Wednesday, the prime minister assured the United States that his government will use a combination of force and talks to defeat terrorism and will not abandon the military option at any stage.

“Pakistan will not negotiate with terrorists, but it will not refrain from talking to insurgent tribesmen whose withdrawal of support could help drain the swamp in which terrorists fester and grow,” the prime minister wrote. The statement denotes a key element of the current policy of engagement, which seeks to isolate foreign militants hiding in the tribal area by driving a wedge between them and their local supporters.

The prime minister also tried to assuage the fear expressed widely in Washington that the talks would allow the insurgents to regroup and rearm, as they did in 2006 when now aborted talks brought a temporary relief to them.

“No talks will be held with anyone refusing to lay down arms,” said Mr Gilani. “Militants have been asked to surrender their weapons and unequivocally give up violence. We will not cut off our ability to use force or lower the vigilance we maintain to guard against violations of the peace agreements.”

The prime minister acknowledged that the world was rightly concerned about the threat of terrorism and expected its elimination to be his government’s highest priority.

“We intend to vigorously continue the war against terrorism with the support of the people. Pakistan must fight terrorism for Pakistan’s sake,” he said.

The prime minister noted that past efforts to end terrorism failed because of the view that Pakistan sought to combat terrorism only in response to international pressure.

The new government, he said, will follow a multifaceted strategy to defeat terrorism, combining the use of force against terrorists and civil dialogue with those who, because of religious or ethnic considerations, were misled into supporting extremists.He noted that in the aftermath of Sept 11, 2001, “people and tribes along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan were swept into a wave of violence and anti-Western sentiment.”