Interview: Groups that Create Militias Are not Acceptable to Pakistan, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 7 July 2010

EXCERPT: "Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, says that Islamabad sees the Taliban as a threat to its security, both in Afghanistan and, increasingly, in Pakistan itself. [...] [Q]: There are three Talibans, to judge by media use of the terminology. One is outside Pakistan: the Afghanistan Taliban. The two others are inside Pakistan: the Pakistani Taliban in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and the Punjabi Taliban, in Pakistan's province of Punjab. How does Pakistan regard these groups and the challenges they pose for the country? [A]: The government led by President Asif Ali Zardari has consistently maintained that we consider all Taliban, whether their sphere of operations is Afghanistan or Pakistan, and other militant groups that are affiliated with or associated with the Taliban, as a threat to our own security as well as to the security of our region and the world. [...] Secondly, we also believe there is no purely military solution to the problem, that there also has to be a socioeconomic and a political dimension to the solution. [...] The only legitimate group with a legitimate right to use force in Pakistan should be the state of Pakistan. All other groups that create militias, that want to act as an army of their own, they are not acceptable to the state of Pakistan. And that has enabled many of these groups to come together in a time of adversity because they are under attack."

Read the full interview.

Related articles:
, Asia Times Online, 8 July 2010
80 percent of Kurram Agency cleared of terrorists, Daily Times, 7 July 2010
Suicide attacks in Pakistan are haram: Saeed, Daily Times, 7 July 2010
Former Gitmo detainee arrested in Pakistan, The Long War Journal, 6 July 2010

Related posts:
Pakistan army finds Taliban tough to root out, 5 July 2010
Govt efforts at Taliban reconciliation complicated by Haqqani's ties to Al-Qaeda, 30 June 2010
Negotiating with the Taliban: Issues and prospects, 28 June 2010
Overview: What have Pakistani offensives achieved?, 27 April 2010
Pakistan's foreign minister on combating militancy: Interview, 30 March 2010