LAHORE, Nov 6: The problem of terrorism in Wana cannot be tackled totally and permanently unless this "menace is controlled elsewhere in the world, especially in Afghanistan."

"Terrorism isn't a local phenomenon, a Wana-specific issue. It is a global problem. The situation in Wana can't be controlled in isolation. Terrorism has to be tackled globally," ISPR director-general Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan told reporters on Saturday.

"The Wana problem does not relate to the presence of a handful foreign terrorists there. It linked to a larger, global phenomenon of terrorism."

"The problem of terrorism in Wana will remain there as long as stability is brought about in Afghanistan," he said in reply to a question about the ongoing military operation in the tribal areas of the NWFP, adding: "Stability in Afghanistan would help control the volatile situation in Wana, but not eliminate it completely."

Maj-Gen Sultan said the only way to eliminate terrorism was to dry up the "sources of terrorism from all over the world" through the resolution of political disputes, which were the root cause of terrorism.

However, he stated, the government had successfully managed to secure a large part of the tribal areas from terrorists by either killing them or flushing them out of those areas.

The ISPR chief said the government had never announced winding up of the military operation in the tribal areas. "However, we've claimed that we have either killed or flushed out terrorists from several areas like Shakai. Local population in the areas (secured from terrorists by the military) is living a normal life."

He said the terrorists had fled to the Mehsud tribe's areas as a result of military action in other parts of Wana. However, said he, isolated acts of terrorism could not be ruled out even in the secured areas. "The terrorists fire rockets (from outside secured tribal areas) or plant landmines (in the secured area) during the night," he said, adding: "We've nonetheless destroyed their bases in a large area."

He said the government had successfully been handling the Wana issue politically and militarily through security forces. He made it clear that the military action in Wana was not against Al Qaeda or Taliban. "It's against terrorism and terrorists who may or may not belong to any organization or group," the ISPR chief said.He said around 170 security personnel had lost their lives during the operation in Wana so far. "In guerrila warfare, the security forces have to always suffer greater damage than their opponents. It is because the terrorists mix up with the local population and it becomes impossible to distinguish between a friend and foe. We often cannot use all of our weapons to save civilians from damage and destruction."

In answer to a question, the ISPR chief warned against "making a political issue out of the Wana military action. He said it was a national issue and the politicians must refrain from exploiting it to draw political mileage.

Former prime minister Shujaat Husain had taken the opposition, the MMA, into confidence over the Wana operation. "If somebody is still bent upon exploiting it for political capital, then it's a very deplorable situation," the general said.

He regretted the killings of innocent civilians during the military action in the tribal areas and said military as well as the NWFP government had "adequately" compensated their families.

BALOCHISTAN: Maj-Gen Sultan said people of Balochistan were "very happy over the mega projects underway in the province. In fact, they want more development schemes to be undertaken. I've visited Balochistan this week and told by people that they are very happy over the Gwadar project as well as the plan to construct new cantonments."