Pakistani soil not to be used for terror activities: Asif Ali Zardari

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari today pledged to "fight militants to the finish" and not allow the use of Pakistani soil for terrorist activities against any other country, even as he warned that the fight could be "long and bitter".

"We will fight the militants to the finish. We will not back down. We will ensure a modern and moderate Pakistan, the Pakistan of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah," he said in his address to a joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament.

Pakistan "cannot permit the use of our soil for terrorist activities against any other country", he said.

"The fight against militancy may be long and bitter. But we have no other option except to win. Win we will, and soon Insha’Allah,” he added.

Zardari, who created history by becoming the first civilian President to address a joint session of parliament for the fourth consecutive year, said the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) will avenge the recent assassination of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer and federal minister Shahbaz Bhatti by defeating the mindset that resulted in their killing.

"We condemn the murders of Salman Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti. We will avenge the martyrdom of heroes of democracy by defeating the mindset that preaches violence and hatred," he said as lawmakers in the treasury benches thumped their desks and shouted slogans like "Jiye Bhutto".

“We must be true to our principles and we must be strong. Being strong means denouncing what is wrong. And violence, hatred, extremism and intolerance are wrong,” he said.

Zardari said the individuals responsible for the 2007 assassination of his wife, former premier Benazir Bhutto, “will certainly not escape punishment” though her family and the PPP do not believe in revenge.

They want to defeat "the mindset that was behind her assassination" because Bhutto believed "democracy is the best revenge", he added.

Both Taseer and Bhatti, senior leaders of the PPP, were assassinated this year for challenging Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law.

Taseer was gunned down by a police guard while the banned Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for killing Bhatti, the only Christian member of the cabinet.

The opposition had earlier threatened to disrupt Zardari’s speech to protest the government’s perceived failure to tackle corruption and to resolve the people’s problems.