Pervez Musharraf

Islamabad, May 20 (Reuters): President Pervez Musharraf, a key ally in the US-led war on terror, vowed today to eliminate al Qaida militants hiding in Pakistan’s wild tribal region, whether by political or military means.

Speaking at a security conference in Islamabad, Musharraf said Pakistan’s latest efforts to seek the surrender of hundreds of foreigners living in the semi-autonomous region should not be construed as a “compromise” in its fight against terror.

“Our operations against al Qaida in our tribal areas will continue unabated,” the official APP news agency quoted him as saying. “There is no compromise whatsoever, they (al Qaida) have to be eliminated whether through political or military means.”

Pakistani authorities have set several deadlines for hundreds of foreign militants thought to be hiding in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan to register themselves with the authorities or give themselves up, but none has yet done so.

The calls followed bloody clashes between the militants and the Pakistani army in March in which 120 people died.

Last week the dominant Wazir tribe in South Waziristan formed a militia force to hunt the fugitives in a bid to avoid more Pakistani army action in their region. Pakistani security forces arrested four foreigners suspected of being al Qaida members in Peshawar yesterday.

Intelligence officials said the men, including two Uzbeks, a Kuwaiti and a Saudi Arabian, had links with the foreign militants who fought with Pakistani forces in South Waziristan. Officials say most of those militants hiding in the tribal region are thought to be of Central Asian origin.

German arrested

Pakistani authorities have arrested a 22-year-old German armed with a gun and a dagger for trying to enter the country’s wild tribal region without permission, officials said today.

A provincial government official said the man — identified by his passport as Richard Cahoon — had told police he wanted to visit the Kurram tribal agency to learn more about Islam, a religion he converted to several years ago.