ANKARA: The federal government would use force as a last resort to curb terrorism as it did not want further loss of innocent lives, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Tuesday in an interview to Turkish media.
“Our challenge is to root out this menace (terrorism) from our midst. Pakistan needs cooperation and support of international community and our neighbours for controlling funding, supply of arms and training to terror networks,” the prime minister said.
In reply to a question regarding Pakistan’s relations with India, the prime minister said that recent tensions along the Line of Control (LoC) were a matter of concern.
“Pakistan will continue to respond to the situation with restraint and responsibility,” he said.
The prime minister said that Pakistan was committed to a serious, sustained and constructive engagement with India that must include the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir.
When asked about US drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas, he said that they not only violated the country’s sovereignty and international law but were also counterproductive and lead to further radicalization.
“These strikes undermine our collective efforts to counter extremism and terrorism. We hope that there is a rethink in the US about the utility of the drone strikes,” the prime minster said.
