'GIVE US CREDIT'
The U.S. government has consistently praised Pakistan's military ruler Pervez Musharraf for his cooperation in the war against terrorism, saying Wednesday Pakistan had "time and time again shown itself to be a stalwart partner" in that war.
But there has been criticism of Musharraf in some quarters for being half-hearted or ineffective in implementing a crackdown on domestic extremists announced in January.
Qureshi said that was unfair, adding that while some suspects had been released for lack of evidence, others had been charged.
"There are over 1,060 who are being proceeded against on related charges of extremism, trying to incite violence and terrorism," he said.
More than 300 "foreign elements" had been caught in the tribal areas, and a number of other suspects had been arrested after tip-offs from the Americans in the cities of Faisalabad and Lahore, including senior al Qaeda coordinator Abu Zubaydah.
"The number Pakistan has arrested of al Qaeda and extremist Taliban from tribal areas and other cities in Pakistan may exceed what the U.S. has got from Afghanistan," Qureshi said. "Pakistan deserves much more credit than is given to it."
Qureshi said Pakistan needed more help, although he said it had a firm understanding with Washington that only Pakistani troops would be used in carrying out raids.
"We talk about communication intercepts, we talk about intelligence information, that cooperation is going on, and that sort of assistance we do need," he said. "Frankly it is a very expensive thing to do ... and we need money."
"There was an indication there would be provision of helicopters and vehicles and electronic equipment to carry out these functions, and that is what we need," he said. "The world, if it wants to help Pakistan, needs to give Pakistan the funds, the equipment and the intelligence information." |
