President vows not to let terrorists succeed

Addressing international conference on “Global Fight Against Terrorism,” President Zardari called for addressing rootcauses of terrorism and fighting the “mindset” by giving the people hope. The President pointed that law enforcement measures help to contain the problem temporarily, and said long-term solutions must address political, economic and social aspects of the problem. “The way to permanently defeat militancy is to remove the fear and instability on which it thrives,” he said.The President said the way to defeat terrorism was to provide jobs, education and health care for all. “The way to win this war is to give hope to our people in the future,” he said and warned that violence begets violence. “All must avoid senseless use of force ... ensure respect for the rule of law and due process.” He said respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of states must be the basic principle of fight against terrorism. He said Pakistan supports the idea of a counter narrative to win the battle for hearts and minds. It is only by defeating the terrorists on the ideological front that victory could be achieved, he said.President Zardari, who is in Tehran on a two-day visit for the conference, said Pakistan has suffered 67 billion dollars in material losses, besides a loss of 35000 people including 5000 law enforcement personnel.“We cannot allow terrorists to prevail,” the President said and recalled that his wife late Shaheed Benazir Bhutto was also a victim of terrorism.Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told delegates that Washington, Israel and Europe were the worst culprits. It is unfortunate that I have to announce that the individuals and groups responsible for these (terrorist) incidents are supported by certain European governments and some American politicians, Ahmadinejad said.Afghan President Hamid Karzai also addressed the meeting. Despite our attempts in the last 10 years to build the foundations of the country, not only has our country not achieved peace but terrorism is still a threat to Afghanistan and the region, Karzai said.