Musharraf threatens to use force against terrorists

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has warned that if terrorists and extremists do not understand the language of dialogue, they would be dealt with force.

Islamabad, Oct 31 : Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has warned that if terrorists and extremists do not understand the language of dialogue, they would be dealt with force.

He said at the inauguration of the Islamabad-Peshawar motorway that if terrorism was not stamped out, it would put national integrity into jeopardy.

Musharraf said that the government was trying to initiate dialogues to resolve the situation in Swat.

He said that those opposed to development in the country were behind the Rawalpindi attacks.

Earlier, at least eight people died and 22 others injured in a suicide attack on Tuesday that took place very close to the office of Musharraf.

The suicide bomber blew himself up at a police checkpoint, as he tried to sneak into the highly secure campus of the Pakistan Army.

The explosion took place on a road hardly half-a-kilometre from the Army House, the official residence of the president, and adjacent to the busy Grand Trunk Road.

It was a suicide attack made by a pedestrian, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.

The 22 injured in the blast have been shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Rawalpindi.The adjoining areas have been cordoned off, while the security has been further tightened in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Meanwhile, Rawalpindi and Islamabad have been put on high alert and security of the sensitive installations has been beefed up.

The intelligence agencies fear that two more suicide attacks can take place in the twin cities during this week, The News quoted sources, as saying.

Railway Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmed had said that there were reports that up to three possible suicide attackers had managed to enter Rawalpindi and neighbouring Islamabad in recent days.

|India not involved in Rawalpindi attack: Pak Interior Ministry |World[Islamabad{Islamabad, Oct 31 : Condemning the suicide attack in Rawalpindi in which at least eight people were killed and 22 others were injured, Pakistan Interior Ministry Spokesman Brigadier (retired) Javed Iqbal Cheema has ruled out any Indian involvement in the attack.

"We don't have sufficient evidence on the Indian involvement in the Rawalpindi blast, but it has been confirmed that certain countries are supplying weapons to militants in Swat, Balochistan and FATA," Cheema told reporters.

Law enforcement agencies are investigating into the matter, he added.

The blasts took place very close to President General Pervez Musharraf's office.

Earlier, Railway Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmed had said that there were reports that up to three possible suicide attackers had managed to enter Rawalpindi and neighbouring Islamabad in recent days.

Talking about situation in Swat region of Waziristan Province, Cheema said that the area was relatively calm after militants had sought a ceasefire.

Security forces in Swat are refraining from firing so that the militants could remove the bodies of rebels; the Daily Times quoted the spokesman, as saying.

The Interior Ministry had prepared a standard operating procedure (SOP) draft to protect political activities, Cheema said.

ANI