Islamabad: Former premier Benazir Bhutto today warned that "foreign troops" could enter Pakistan's restive tribal regions unless the government takes firm steps to counter pro-Taliban militants in the area who could also pose a threat to its nuclear facilities.

"If Pakistan has no control in the tribal areas, then foreign troops can come there," Bhutto told reporters in Peshawar, the capital of restive North West Frontier Province, where she is campaigning for the January 8 general election. She also warned that the militancy in Swat district of NWFP and the tribal areas could "reach Islamabad" in the near future and the rebels would then even pose a threat to places like Kahuta, Pakistan's main nuclear installation near the capital.

She said she favoured the continuation of operations by the Pakistan Army in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Afghan frontier, but if her Pakistan People's party comes to power in the polls it will simultaneously launch programmes to give more political autonomy to the region and to speed up economic development.

"The army operations will continue and the same time, we will take steps like extending the Political Parties Act to FATA," she said. Elected councils and courts would be setup in FATA to ensure the delivery of speedy and inexpensive justice, she added. Economic development, Bhutto said, would play a key role in countering the spread pro-Taliban militancy in the tribal areas and Swat. "We will use the troops in tribal areas, but we feel that military operations are not the only solution. The people of the tribal areas are our own people," she said.

Source : PTI