Musharraf's counterterrorism formula: a three-tiered strategy

Washington, Jan 7(ANI): If elected back to office in Pakistan, former president Pervez Musharraf will apply a three-tiered strategy- military, political, and the socioeconomic- to fight terrorism.

In an interview with Foreign Policy, when asked how would his "approach to fighting terrorism change" if he got elected in Pakistan polls, Musharraf replied: "We have to use the military, the political, and the socioeconomic-a three-tiered strategy. We have to wean away the people from the Taliban."

"In the past, we [thought that we] needed to gradually get [the regions] away from the tribal culture and bring the government into play- provincial government, local government, and national government. But the demand of the day is very different now. We need to empower the ex-tribal maliks to counter al Qaeda and the Taliban because those tribal maliks were the ones who held sway over the tribes," he added.

Musharraf said that if the 9/11 attacks had not happened, one would have preferred elections and local government to do away with the tribal culture.

"But now, with the Taliban being there, we need to get that same tribal culture back and ask the tribal maliks to take charge against the Taliban and al Qaeda," he added.

The former military ruler laid emphasis on educating the masses in the tribal agencies, especially the women, calling it "a long-term strategy of transforming the tribal agencies and integrating them with the rest of Pakistan." (ANI)