KARACHI, Sept 13: The wisdom behind mobilizing military means alone to curb terrorism was questioned at the international seminar on Changing Global Security Environment that kicked off the four-day exhibition of military hardware - Ideas 2004 - here on Monday.

Speakers at the seminar stressed the need for addressing the root-cause of terrorism simultaneously. Political suppression and double-standards pursued by major players in the 'war on terrorism' came under criticism while a warning was sounded against emergence of more desperate and reorganized terrorist networks.

In his keynote address, Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal, who inaugurated the seminar, reiterated the government's resolve to continue its ongoing war against terrorists and extremists.

He also reaffirmed the government's resolve to go ahead with its nuclear research policy to maintain minimum nuclear deterrence against any aggressor, saying that Pakistan would continue to further improve and strengthen its missile and nuclear capability.

"Modernizing, strengthening and improving the armed forces is the country's main priority area," he declared. The defence minister pointed out that the ongoing international war on terrorism was basically against 'symptoms' only, but Pakistan was following a strategy that envisaged attack on 'source'.

"The actual causes of this menace are political and economic disparities and injustices, interference in other countries' affairs and denial of the right of self-determination to the people, like Kashmiris, Palestinians, etc."

Claiming that terrorists' network had successfully been penetrated into, he said that "Pakistan could yield strategic gains after emerging victorious in the international war against terrorism."

Rao Sikandar Iqbal stressed that in the post-9/11 period, it had become imperative to make the United Nations stronger to enable it to deal with global issues. "There is also a need for adopting the concept of collective security, because terrorism is a global phenomenon," he said, adding that the 'Ideas 2004' would go a long way in achieving the objective.

Earlier, director general of the Defence Export Promotion Organization spelt out the objectives of the Ideas-2004 in a changing global security environment. In the first working session, presided over by Dr Shirin Mazari of the Institute of Strategic Studies deliberated upon the impact of 9/11 incident on South Asia and the current phase of Pakistan-India dialogue where Islamabad had insisted that the core issue of Kashmir be addressed for an overall improvement in the security environment.

She expressed the view that war on terrorism would not succeed just by mobilizing military means, stressing that root-cause of terrorism also be addressed.

With regard to evolving a new regime with regard to the weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), she pointed out that while capabilities of Israel and India were being ignored, that of Islamic states was being criticized and Muslims targeted. This discriminatory approach would not work, she said.

Admiral Richard Cobbold, Specialist adviser on Defence Committee, House of Commons, UK, while speaking on 'politics of security management' dwelt at length with Nato's new key role in maximizing the military contribution in the new security environment.

He mentioned the differing perception of the US and its allies in the war on terror when he said that some of Washington's friends did not believe that its war was a 'war of survival', but a 'war of choice'.

"Indeed, few now would propound that the war on terror is capable of resolution (of the problem) through military means alone. Perhaps this is the reason why most of the Washington's friends shy away from the phrase, war on terror."

His contention was that not only the Al Qaeda had been operating well before 9/11, but the genre had been evolving for much of the preceding decade. "Democracy is inefficient and a slow-starter, but it is extremely effective and can accelerate remorselessly.

It is beset by contradictions, and when under tension, the need to balance the demands of civil rights and security may cause intense internal friction. There will be costs for a state trying to fight a lawful counter-insurgency campaign, to be paid in blood, material and treasure.

That does not mean that a democracy has to fight with its arms behind its back, for it can pass tough emergency laws that provide the powers needed to prevail. But the mature democracy rescinds those laws at the first opportunity," he said.

He was of the view that civil and political control of the military was a stronger and more stable option. "If there is to be control, at the highest level, of the military, then there is a likelihood of military control of political life. I doubt whether that, in the long run is good, either for the military or for political health. In specific circumstances it may be the best option available."

Dr Wan Usman, head of the Strategic Studies for National Reliance, University of Jakarta, presented a paper on the War on Terrorism and its Effects on the Security of Third World Nations.

He observed that Al Qaeda had divided its organizational set-up into smaller units of element, making a network in the Third World states by infiltrating into the legal institutions, such as environmental group, human rights organizations, educational bodies, etc.

His also pointed out that the 'war on terrorism' itself had created difficulties from the beginning, since there were problems in the definition of 'terrorism'. "To understand the threat of terrorism to American people, we must know the actual reason why American is so hated.

It is unfair that while talking about terrorism, merely Osama bin Laden or Jemaah Islamiyah are mentioned, but we cannot close our eyes on Israel - as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is responsible for the cold-blooded slaughter of at least 1,500 men, women and children in two refugee camps of Beirut," he said.

The fight against terrorism can only succeed when the ideology upon which it is based is shown to be wrong, he argued. Concerning the effects on Third World nations, he said that America and its allies should continuously evaluate and improve strategies, particularly for Muslim countries, in implementing modern globalized system, which is sometimes regarded as unfair or biased against the Third World nations.

Maj-Gen Zhu Sheng Hu, ex-director of the Institute for Strategic Studies, University of Beijing, claimed that most of the financial sources of terrorists had been cut off and they had reorganized through dispersion, networking and globalization, which had created difficulties in the fight against international terrorism."

He also stressed regional cooperation for combating terrorism while stressing the need for enhancing the UN role. He was critical of the double-standards, and cautioned that some of the countries might, under the pretext of war on terrorism, enlarge their sphere of influence, spread their network of bases and embark on interfering in domestic affairs of the countries in the region. He stressed the need for laying more emphasis on increasing dialogue and strengthening the UN role.

Dr Samar Mubarak said the strategy of indigenous development of weapon systems and minimum deterrence on strategic side had been evolved. His paper, which focused on developing an indigenous industrial base for self-reliance, was presented in the second working session, chaired by Maj-Gen Jamshed Ayaz Khan.

Mr Ikram Sehgal was of the view that a principal benefit of the end of the Cold War should have been disarmament. Stressing a cut in defence spending, he said: "Proliferation of regional and civil conflicts makes an increase in military spending more likely.

In addition, the end of Cold War has reduced the incentive for developed countries to use economic assistance to win the hearts and minds of the developing world over to a particular ideology."

He also referred to the seven per cent increase in Pakistan's defence budget. The Indian government in turn, he pointed out, also increased defence spending by almost 18 per cent. Benny Wahlberg presented his paper on The Mechanics and Pitfalls of Offset Ventures in Defence Contracts - the Malaysian perspective.