Development key to fight terror: FM

DUBAI (Agencies) - Development programmes in violence-plagued areas of Pakistan are an essential part of the countrys fight against militants, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in Dubai on Tuesday.
Holding and building violence-affected areas (is) fundamental to achieving a decisive victory against terrorism, Qureshi told the Friends of Democratic Pakistan conference.
All our efforts against terrorism and extremism will come to naught should we fail to address their root causes, he said.
Qureshi stressed that economic deprivation is among these root causes. Poverty and socio-economic deprivation are being exploited by the terrorist outfits to recruit young people into militant organisations, he said.
Qureshi said that failure to address economic problems may sap Pakistani public support for further operations. If we fail in looking after the local population and their lives do not change for the better, the public support for operations in the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) region may not hold, Qureshi said.
Pakistans three-year plan for reconstruction and rehabilitation in Swat, Malakand and other areas affected by violence will cost 300 million dollars, he said, while the countrys five-year development plan for the same areas carries a 1.2-billion-dollar price tag.
Qureshi said that no strategy against terrorism can work without an all-encompassing policy and urged the FoDP forum to help Pakistan through investments and joint ventures to help it counter militancy. He invited the member states to seize and multiply the opportunities Pakistan is offering to you. He said Pakistan has suffered immensely at the hands of militancy and terrorism and the socio-political cost inflicted on Pakistan was immeasurable.
According to conservative estimates, Pakistan has suffered losses of over $35 billion since 9/11.
He said the Pakistani nation is united against terrorism. We are resolved not to let this consensus weaken or whittle away, he said and pointed at the unprecedented public support to cleanse Swat and Malakand of militants.
He said no strategy against terrorism can work unless it is all-encompassing and said all efforts will come to naught if the root causes are not addressed.
Our FODP partners should expedite their respective commitments and pledges lest this opportunity of consolidating the gains secured so painstakingly slip away from our hands.
He mentioned that the statement issued at the end of the first FODP summit rightly recognised the importance of public-private partnerships in accelerating Pakistans socio-economic development.
The governments of FODP countries and international financial institutions are ready to support the private sector to step forward and contribute towards Pakistans progress.
He said the overall situation in Pakistan was being unduly exaggerated and was uniquely placed to become a hub of inter-regional economic and commercial activities owing to its prime location straddling South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.
United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahayan and Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc also emphasised that stability in Pakistan is important for the Middle East.
Stability in Pakistan will contribute to stability in the Gulf and the region and the world, Sheikh Abdullah told the conference. And Arinc said that, Turkey considers (Pakistan) a cornerstone of safety and stability in the region.