26 April,2009 10:26 AM IST | | IANS
Pakistan's ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani has urged the international community to help Pakistan in its efforts to prevent the Talibanisation of the country's Swat and Buner regions instead of giving lectures, the Online news agency reported.
"We have shared our concerns with the US and do not want Talibanisation in Pakistan at all," Haqqani said.
The Swat deal aims to establish peace besides loss of human lives, he said, and made it clear that the deal did not mean, "We have surrendered to militants."
Haqqani said: "If the militants did not abide by the deal than we will fight the militants if needed. The occupation of Buner by militants was not their military victory but reached there on the notion that the local people would welcome them.
"Most of the Pakistanis are moderate and will not allow militants to impose Sharia (Islamic laws).
"We admit Taliban pose great threat to Pakistanis, and Pakistanis are Muslims and wanted implementation of their religion, but neither we believe in flogging of girls nor locking up women inside homes," he said in an interview with the BBC here Saturday.
He added that the majority of the people rejected the Taliban lifestyle and the areas where the Taliban influence still existed was due to the local environment.
The ambassador strongly rejected the impression (by Western countries) that Taliban will occupy Pakistan, saying, "we have one million strong army and our institutions are strong, and we are not a failed state".
