Pakistan to defend if attacked: Owais; says Obama warnings undercut Pak govt

He warned, however, that not only would Pakistan defend its sovereignty, but that thousands of ethnic Pashtun tribesmen along the border would rise up to expel any foreign troops.

“These are fighters, let me tell you,” the Governor said. “Superpowers have underestimated them, the British, the Soviets, and I hope nobody makes the same mistake again.”

Ghani, who took a hard line against militants in his last job as Governor of Balochistan, said the best solution remained Pakistan’s long-standing proposal to fence the border.

The root causes of the insurgency lay in Afghanistan’s political situation, heroin production and in the continuing presence of foreign troops, Ghani said, adding, however, that an Iraq-style ‘surge’ in Afghanistan could work.

“If it is accompanied by a parallel political strategy... yes,” he said. “Once it’s on that path then they can decide how to disengage.”

The Governor said Pakistan’s policy of negotiations was working, although he insisted that the government was only talking to tribal elders and not to militants.

“I tell our allies, ‘Look, if you have better ideas, put them on the table’,” he said.