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  • News Desk
  • Nov 15th, 2008
  • Comments Off on Predator strikes undermining sovereignty: President
President Asif Ali Zardari said here on Friday that the US predator attacks inside Pakistan's territory were undermining efforts to win hearts and minds of the people. "It's undermining my sovereignty and it's not helping to win the war on the hearts and minds of people," Zardari told the CBS News in an exclusive interview.

Responding to the increase in the number of US predator strikes on Pakistani soil, he said: "Obviously, the people who are using the strikes are confident that they're doing something. Otherwise, they wouldn't be at it."

He said that predator strikes and the ground raids by the US forces inside the Pakistan territory were unwelcome. "Anybody who needs to come to Pakistan needs to have a passport and a visa. So, whether it's ground forces or air forces, they need a visa; and if they don't have a visa, they're not allowed," he said.

The President said that the new US administration would need to let Pakistan take appropriate measures, on its own, against extremist or terrorist elements.

"The challenge for the new administration would be to allow us to have the capability of doing more. We want to do more. It's our war."

When asked whether a big terrorist attack was likely to be planned in the tribal areas, he said, "Well, I can assure the American people that nothing like that is going to happen in my watch." He categorically stated that Pakistan would not allow use of its tribal areas to stage any terrorist attack against the United States of America.

He, however, added: "There's always a danger of them (terrorists). I didn't know that they'd be successful in getting my wife. We thought we'd protect her, but we couldn't. But to say we'd allow it to happen: No."

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2008


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