Acknowledging the presence of foreign militants on Pakistani soil, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today said it has made the US apprehensive of a repeat of the the 9/11 terror attacks.Gilani’s comments, which virtually defended the US’ aggressive stand on dealing with extremists infesting its tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, came close on the heels of media reports that Washington is mulling unilateral military action against Taliban and Al Qaida militants there.“When there is interference in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas from people who (do) not belong to your country and they are coming from Chechnya, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan and they are militants disturbing the peace of the country, naturally they (US) object because they don’t want.. another (incident) of the same nature as 9/11 should take place,” Gilani told reporters here.He pointed out that the presence of the foreign fighters in Pakistan’s tribal areas was being taken seriously across the world.He claimed the US has backed the Pakistan government’s three-pronged policy to tackle the situation in the tribal areas.The policy envisages a dialogue with tribal elders and socio-economic development to usher in peace in the seven semi-autonomous tribal regions.The government has said force will be used only as a last resort.However, during an unscheduled visit to Islamabad last week, Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, asked the Pakistani military leadership to do more to tackle the activities of Taliban and Al Qaida elements based in the tribal belt.
