US created militants to defeat rival ideology: Zardari

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari Wednesday reiterated that it was shared responsibility of international community to assist Pakistan in its fight against militants as this 'Frankenstein' was once created by US to meet objective of defeating the rival ideology.

He said Pakistan, having unequalled advantage of being aware of the on ground situation, was in a better position and was fully determined to continue fighting militants at a pace and manner that was best suited to the ground realities.

This he said during his meeting with Stephen J. Hadley, Senior Adviser for International Affairs, United States Institute of Peace and former National Security Advisor at Aiwan-e-Sadr here.

Interior Minister A. Rehman Malik, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar were also present during the meeting.

Briefing about the meeting Spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that matters regarding war against militancy, regional situation and Pak-US relations were discussed.

The President, during meeting, said war against terror and militant mindset was a long drawn battle.

He said every development in the ongoing struggle carries new challenges in its fold thus calling for more collaboration and consultations among the allies to deal with emerging situations.

He said Pakistan has been at the foremost fronts to confront the forces of evil that threatened not only writ of the state of Pakistan and posed existential threat to it but also threatened world and regional peace and stability.

The people of Pakistan having realized the extent and nature of the menace, never hesitated to rise up to the challenge knowing the huge cost that they were to pay to fight scourge of militant mindset, he added.

The President said despite limited resources and institutional capacity, Pakistani nation remains committed to fight militancy and extremism even after suffering thousands of casualties and billions in economic terms.

The nation, rightly expected and deserved recognition of its services by the international community, the President continued.

The President said from the very beginning of the struggle against militants, the democratic government pleaded before the international community, particularly its friends and allies, for adopting a holistic approach encompassing socio-economic approaches and military means were essential, to tackle the challenge of confronting militant mindset.