No alternative to fighting militants: Asif

ISLAMABAD â€" The top political and military leadership Friday vowed to crush militancy in the North Western parts of the country, saying the military operation will continue till revival of complete peace in the restive Swat and tribal areas.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani jointly presided over the high-level meeting that reviewed the current situation in Swat and Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA).
Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Minister for Foreign Affairs, A. Rehman Malik, Interior Advisor, Owais Ahmed Ghani, Governor NWFP, Amir Haider Khan Hoti, Chief Minister NWFP, Asfandyar Wali Khan President ANP, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, COAS and Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, DG ISI attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, the President also spoke to Prime Minister, Army Chief and Chief of JUI-F, Maulana Fazlur Rehman in separate meetings on the security and political situation of the country.
People privy to the consultations on the issue said, the government was left with no other option but strike hard on the militants in the troubled Swat district and other areas of NWFP, as negotiations for returning peace and stability to the said areas could not even start.
“Both sides are not ready to take even some confidence building measures, like giving up of arms by the militants and promulgation of Nizam-e-Adal Shariah regulations in Swat by the government,� they stated.
Another source in the government informed TheNation that ANP, the leading ruling party in NWFP and a major partner in the Centre, was also unhappy over the security approach of the Federal Government, what the party considered as ‘flawed one.’
In the meeting, a detailed presentation was given on the current situation in Swat and FATA and the restoration of normalcy in the disturbed areas, according to a statement issued here on Friday.
The meeting expressed satisfaction over the ongoing fight against militancy and vowed to continue the fight until the end of militancy and complete restoration of the writ of the government in the affected areas.