Zardari tells US CENTCOM Chief to stop drone attacks in the tribal region

Islamabad, Jan.20 (ANI): Pakistan has once again urged the United States to stop the drone attacks in the tribal areas along the Pakistan -Afghanistan border.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari met US CENTCOM Chief General David Petraeus here and said that the US drone attacks on Al Qaeda and Taliban targets in the tribal region of the country is weakening the writ of the government and destabilizing the political process, The News reported.

He said that the US led attacks were proving counter-productive in the 'war on terror' in the region.

Zardari asked the United States to discontinue the attacks in the region bordering Afghanistan which has witnessed an upsurge in extremist activities in the recent past.

He told Petraeus that the US should fulfill its commitment to create Economic Opportunity Zones (EOZs) in tribal areas, as it will boost the socio-economic condition of people in the region and thus encourage people to disown taking-up to extremist activities.

Zardari added that the 'war on terror' has badly damaged its economic condition and the international community should come forward to help Pakistan to overcome the economic challenges which it is facing currently. (ANI)