ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s new prime minister vowed Saturday to make the war on terrorism his No. 1 priority but said peace talks and aid programs could be more effective than weapons in fighting militancy in tribal areas along the Afghan border.
It was the new government’s latest rebuke of President Pervez Musharraf’s military tactics, which many Pakistanis think have led to a spike in domestic attacks.
The U.S. is seeking reassurance that Pakistan’s new coalition government will keep the pressure on extremist groups using the country’s lawless northwest frontier as a springboard for attacks in Afghanistan and beyond.
In his first major policy speech since his swearing-in, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said boosting government services to the region could lure tribesmen away from extremism.
“Our tribal areas have long suffered from backwardness. There is a dire need for comprehensive economic, social and political reforms because poverty and illiteracy is promoting terrorism,” said Gilani, a loyalist of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
He promised to abolish criminal codes that date back to British colonial rule and tighten regulation over religious schools, some of which are breeding grounds for militants.
“Controlling these social ills will be a key pillar in our strategy in the war against terrorism,” Gilani said. “The war against terrorism is our own war.”
Lawmakers gave Gilani a unanimous vote of confidence Saturday, underscoring the transformation of the political landscape six weeks after Bhutto’s followers routed Musharraf’s in parliamentary elections.
Gilani also said his government was ready to negotiate with some militants — an approach that has already drawn criticism from Washington, the source of about $10 billion in aid to Pakistan since 2001.
In a swift trip to Pakistan, Deputy U.S. Secretary of State John Negroponte said he did not see how it would be possible to hold discussions with some “irreconcilable elements who want to destroy our way of life.”
“I don’t see how you can talk to these kinds of people,” he told reporters Thursday.
Two days later, Gilani held steadfast to his policy, saying his government would hold talks with pro-Taliban groups blamed for Pakistan’s escalating violence only if they “will throw down their weapons and join the track of peace.” His fellow lawmakers thumped their desks in approval.
