Pakistan will fight terrorism with iron fist, says Gilani
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Tuesday Pakistan had suffered more than any other from terrorism and that it would fight the scourge with an "iron fist". "The world is facing today the menace of extremism and terrorism which has affected our socioeconomic development," he said in a speech to a summit of the D8 group of developing countries. "Pakistan has suffered the most due to this curse," he said, pointing to the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto last year which was just one of many acts of violence to hit the country. Soaring prices of food and fuel could spark widespread political unrest, Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Tuesday said at a summit of developing nations. Abdullah said the inflation crisis had erupted as a global recession looms, spelling trouble for the D8 group meeting here Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey. And he called on member nations to boost food production in a bid to avert conflict. "The price of oil has skyrocketed to levels never anticipated the price of food has increased beyond the normal abilities to pay by the poor, which form the majority of the world's people," he said in an opening speech. "Our people in the D8 group of countries will be among those feeling the greatest pains arising out of the current international economic downturn," Abdullah said. "There is also the danger of the food crisis creating political unrest in many societies." Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinijad, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani are attending Tuesday's gathering. The other members are represented by ministers. "However, such cowardly acts will never dampen our firm resolve to fight terrorism and extremism with iron fist," he said. Gilani also said Pakistan was committed to a peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict with India over held Kashmir. "We have made positive progress in recent years in our dialogue with India," he said. "We are seeking a peaceful resolution for all our outstanding issues including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people."
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