Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari has said the US will continue air raids on militants in the tribal belt near the Afghan border.
In a meeting with tribal elders at the President House in Islamabad on Thursday, Zardari said the government had no other option except air strikes to eliminate the 'high valued targets' in the troubled tribal region, Press TV correspondent reported. "There is no alternative but to fight militancy because militants wanted to capture political power through use of force to impose their own political agenda in the country which the government would never allow," Zardari said.
However, tribal elders expressed their reservations on the US drone attacks and said innocent people were also being killed in the deadly strikes.
Experts say Zardari may have hinted that the US drone strikes in the tribal areas were being conducted with the consent of the government.
Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan have seen a rising frequency in missile attacks launched by US drones and forces. More than 400 people --among them suspected militants as well as civilians --have been killed in the attacks. The strikes have increased tensions between Islamabad and Washington and have triggered anti-American sentiments among the Pakistani people. |