WASHINGTON, Feb 24: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Tuesday that the Swat peace deal was only a “local solution to a local problem.”

Talking to the media after a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, the foreign minister insisted that the Swat agreement would not affect Islamabad’s resolve to get rid of violent extremism.

“The logic behind this agreement is a local solution to a local problem, which is quick dispensation of justice. It is not any appeasement towards the militants,” he said.

The Pakistani and Afghan foreign ministers are in Washington to participate in an ongoing review of the US policy towards their region. Director General ISI, Lt Gen Ahmad Shujah Pasha accompanied the Foreign Minister in the meeting with the Afghan delegation.

Mr Qureshi said Pakistan’s determination and resolve to defeat terrorism was as sound as it was and Pakistan was absolutely clear in its objectives.

The foreign minister pointed out that Swat was a princely state which had its own judicial system before it was merged with the federation.

He said the demand for a separate judicial system was a continuation of this tradition.

Mr Qureshi said that through this arrangement Pakistan had addressed procedural difficulties. “It is not a compromise, and there is no question of any capitulation. Pakistan will continue to do what it has to do in its own interest,” he added. He said he had assured his Afghan counterpart “that there is nothing to be apprehensive” about this arrangement.

Afghan Foreign Minister Spanta said the Afghan government had confidence in the Pakistani leadership. He said he “conveyed Afghanistan’s serious concern” on the Swat deal to the Pakistani Foreign Minister, who informed him of the situation in the valley.