Blast won't distract operation: FM

TRIESTE (Reuters) - An unprecedented suicide bombing in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir on Friday will not distract security forces from their operation against Taliban militants, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told Reuters.
The militants are hurting and they are reacting. And this is a reaction to the successful operations weve had in Waziristan and weve had in the Malakand Division, Qureshi said in an interview. But these odd attempts will not distract us. We are focused and we know what has to be done.
The Army is also preparing an all-out assault against Pakistani Taliban leader and al Qaeda ally Baitullah Mehsud in his stronghold of South Waziristan, on the Afghan border.
We cant give you a timing. But we are moving at the right speed, Qureshi said during a trip to Trieste, Italy, where the Group of Eight industrialised countries were holding a conference on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
We are moving in a focused manner. We are moving according to the resources available to us. We dont want to overstretch, nor do we want to give the insurgents time to escape.
Qureshi met his Indian counterpart on Friday in Trieste for talks that Qureshi described as part of 'a re-engagement of the dialogue suspended after the Mumbai attacks last November.
When we restart the dialogue, obviously the Kashmir issue will come under discussion, but we have other issues as well, he said, including cooperation on 'terrorism and extremism.
Asked whether Pakistan intended to prosecute militants responsible for the Mumbai attacks, Qureshi said: We will do our utmost to take them to court, and if we can put together a legally tenable case, we would want them prosecuted and we would want them convicted.
Asked about unrest in Iran following its disputed presidential election, Qureshi said he did not see an immediate threat of spillover across the shared border. Not immediately, but if things spin out of control, then there could be a problem. But there is no immediate threat right now, he said.
Qureshi played down comments by an Al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan on June 21 that militants would use Pakistans nuclear weapons against the United States if they were able to get their hands on them. People who matter and who know the subject know what a foolproof system we have, he said.
Obviously Al-Qaeda is going to make statements to attract attention to them. Theyre on the run and they are seeking attention, and such statements get them attention.