Terrorism is spreading like "wild fire" in South Asia, particularly in Pakistan, and receiving institutional support, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said here Saturday. "In Pakistan, terrorism and its sanctuaries are gaining a deeper grip as demonstrated by the tragic assassination of Benazir Bhutto," Karzai said at the opening of a regional summit, referring to the dead opposition leader.

Terrorism is the most "menacing" challenge faced by South Asia, home to 1.5 billion people in eight countries, he said. "We need collective action to wipe out terrorism in the region," added Karzai, whose government is battling a Taliban rebel-led insurgency and whose relations with neighbouring Pakistan have been going steadily downhill in the past few months. His comments came as Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani sat in the audience for the inaugural session of the two-day summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2008