President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday called for consensus and unity among the people in combating terrorism, saying the decision of launching a military action in North Waziristan Agency could not be taken by the government alone.
Addressing the concluding session of the 5th National Conference of South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) at the President’s House, Zardari said, “Whether we fight the war against militants today or tomorrow, we will do it with unity.”
“It’s easy to be emotional, it is easy to take a country to war but you don’t ride a tiger until you are sure when to get off.”
In this connection, the president made it clear that the government would act in accordance with its agenda and schedule and “not according to dictation from somewhere else”.
Zardari said complete understanding existed among state institutions and the government was capable of handling issues.
However, the president highlighted the need for consensus and recalled that the government had guided the nation towards Swat and the South Waziristan operations only because the nation had agreed to them.
“But today, we don’t have consensus,” he said.
“We agree we need to take on this mission, but we are not ready to accept a possible blowback.”
He said in accordance with the policies of Benazir Bhutto, he preferred reconciliation to handle terrorism and extremism.
“If we don’t reconcile amongst ourselves, we cannot reconcile with other countries,” he remarked and added, “We need to accommodate other nations.”
Zardari said the attack on Malala Yousafzai was an attack on the nation’s values and on the future of coming generations.
“This was not an ordinary terrorist act. She was attacked because she raised the flag of peace and education for children.” The president said terrorists wanted to impose their agenda by force but they would not be allowed to succeed in their nefarious designs under any circumstances.
Don’t ride the tiger if you can’t get off: Zardari
