Pakistan

Zardari warns of fight for sovereignty

Article published on the 2009-06-13 Latest update 2009-06-13 15:10 TU

The body of Muslim cleric Sarfraz Naeemi is carried to its burial site in Lahore on June 13, 2009
(Photo: Reuters/Adrees Latif)

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said on Saturday that the country was fighting for its “sovereignty” as it continues to battle the Taliban.

Zardari was speaking on the day that Pakistan’s military reported that 41 Taliban militants were killed in the northwest of the country as part of an ongoing offensive.

"We are fighting a war for our sovereignty," Zardari said. "We will continue this war until the end, and we will win it at any cost. The Taliban are the enemies of innocent people. They want to terrorise the people and to take control of the country's institutions."

Zardari's TV address followed suicide bombings on Friday that killed at least six people - including prominent anti-Taliban cleric Sarfraz Naeemi - and wounded more than 100.

Security forces said on Saturday that after fighting in Bannu they had secured Zindi Akbar Khan village, a paramilitary fort in Jani Khel and the area up to Marwat Canal.

The military said 35 terrorists were killed during the operation and said the area had been used as a base for “criminal and terrorist” activities in other Pakistani towns.

Elsewhere, six other militants were killed in northwestern Swat valley. One Pakistani soldier and seven others were injured.

The military said that the Pakistan Air Force had also bombed two militant hideouts in Makeen, South Waziristan, but the number of casualties could not be ascertained.