Zardari seeks sustained world support against terrorism

Zardari seeks sustained world support against terrorism

* President says Pakistan can’t remove troops from Pak-India border
* IMF chief assures Zardari of support for economic growth

WASHINGTON/LAHORE: Pakistan will be able to root out violent extremism with the help of sustained international support, President Asif Ali Zardari said late on Thursday.

“I can assure the world on behalf of the people of Pakistan that we are up to the task. Just help us. Get us the capability and we can defeat the common enemy for a better tomorrow for our children and the coming generations,” he said while speaking to a gathering at a dinner hosted in his honour by Pakistan’s Ambassador in Washington Husain Haqqani and his wife MNA Farahnaz Isfahani at the Pakistani embassy.

According to a private TV channel, Zardari said in an interview with a US newspaper that Pakistan could not remove its troops from the Pakistan-India border to deploy them on its western borders.

He said Pakistan had already deployed a significant number of troops on the western border.

He said the drone attacks would be more effective if the US provided the technology to Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) assured Pakistan of its support for the economic development of the country in a meeting between IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and President Zardari.