Give us the drones; we’ll take out the militants: Zardari

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari

ISLAMABAD President Asif Ali Zardari in an interview with The Independent has called on the United States to provide Pakistan with missiles and drone technology to target militants as opposed to conducting independent operations that violate the country’s sovereignty.Pakistan had made it clear that it was willing to ‘take out high-value targets on our own, and we welcome the technology and intelligence assistance that will give us the ability to succeed.’ Zardari said, adding that ‘I cannot condone violations of our sovereignty even when they are done by allies and friends. We would much prefer that the US share its intelligence and give us the drones and missiles that will allow us to take care of this problem on our own.’During the interview, President Zardari for the first time conceded that more than one of the 10 militants who carried out the Mumbai attacks may be Pakistani.It is generally believed that despite public denials Pakistan co-operates with the US drone strikes. However, such tactics are increasingly unpopular among the Pakistani people.‘President Obama once said that he would act if we weren’t willing and able. We certainly are willing and with international support we will become even more able,’ The Independent quoted Zardari as saying.He also acknowledged that more than a year after elections, many Pakistanis are growing frustrated with an apparent lack of progress. ‘After a decade of dictatorship the people had enormous expectations of rapid improvement in their lives. That is still very much our priority but the enormity of the economic crisis both within Pakistan and internationally, compounded by the war that we fight within and along our borders, has made progress much slower than we hoped.’