Taking a U-turn, Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani has said the military offensive against Taliban in the restive South
Waziristan tribal region would continue and that he could not provide a timeframe for completing it, hours after declaring that it has ended.
Gilani initially said in Lahore on Saturday that the offensive against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan in South Waziristan Agency "has ended" and there was now "talk of (an operation) in Orakzai Agency".
Hours later, the Prime Minister told the media in Karachi that the operation in South Waziristan would continue.
"This operation has continued with great success and the strongholds of militants have been captured and a large quantity of weapons and ammunition has been recovered," he said, adding he could not give a timeframe for completing the offensive.
If somebody had gained the impression that the military operation would be concluded, "it could have been in a different context," Gilani said. The government would chase militants wherever they take refuge.
"We will take military action wherever we get information about the presence of militants," he said.
The military says about 600 militants and over 60 soldiers have died in fighting in Waziristan since a campaign was launched there against the Taliban in October. Troops have secured most Taliban strongholds in the region but top militant leaders continue to be at large.
Gilani said terrorists alone will benefit if Pakistan and India do not resume their peace process, which has been stalled since the Mumbai terror attacks over a year ago.
"If we do not hold talks, only terrorists will benefit," Gilani told reporters in his hometown of Multan.
He was responding to a question about the possibility of resuming the composite dialogue process, which India put on hold after the Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba carried out the attacks in Mumbai in November last year.
Pakistan wants "very good relations" with all its neighbours, including China, Afghanistan, Iran and India, Gilani said.
Though ties between Pakistan and India had improved in recent years, the Mumbai incident created a "distance" in the composite dialogue, he said.
Referring to his meeting with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in Egypt in July, Gilani said the two leaders had agreed that "talks are the only way forward".
The Pakistani leader also said he and Singh had wanted to "resolve our core issues", including the Kashmir dispute, differences over sharing river waters and cooperation against terrorism.
Gilani again skirted questions about making public the evidence Pakistan claims it has of India s alleged involvement in fomenting unrest in Balochistan province and the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, saying this would be done at the "appropriate time".
Gilani said he had discussed the issue of Balochistan with Singh during their meeting in Egypt and the matter had also been included in a joint statement issued after their talks.
"We cannot disclose our strategy (on Balochistan) and commenting on sensitive issues can cause problems for the government," he said.
"The evidence with us will be shared...when we get the appropriate time and forum," Gilani said.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik has claimed Pakistan had extensive evidence of India s alleged role in fomenting unrest in the country but Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said the proof is insufficient to "plausibly argue" Islamabad s case.
Gilani refused to comment on the divergent views expressed by the two ministers. PTI
