War against terror cannot be won by military means: Musharraf

Islamabad, Jan 16 (PTI) Former Pakistan President
Pervez Musharraf has underlined the need for a "multi-pronged
approach" to combat terrorism in Pakistan, saying the
long-term fight against the menace would not be won by
military means.

"I draw a similarity with a tree. When you are dealing
with the terrorists and killing any number of them, you are
plucking the leaves, shedding the leaves off the tree,"
Musharraf said at the World Affairs Council of Western
Michigan in the US.

"And more leaves will grow. When you destroy an
organisation, you chop off one branch of the tree. But the
roots remain," the former military dictator stressed.

Musharraf, who is in the US on a lecture series,
pushed for a "multi-pronged approach" to combat of terrorism
in Pakistan, including political, social and economic
development.

Referring to the latest Israeli offensive in Gaza in
which over 1,100 people have been killed, almost half of them
civilians, Musharraf warned that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin
Laden's latest message in which he calls for jihad against
Israel will would appeal to certain sections in Muslim world.

"These are words which are welcomed by the masses in
the Muslim world," Musharraf was quoted as saying by the
Pakistani daily 'Dawn' Friday.

He said that a lack of understanding prevented people
in the United States from appreciating the key role of
Pakistan in the war against terror.

"Pakistan is doing all that it can," he said, adding
"Pakistan is a victim of terrorism and that is what needs to
be understood. We are a victim."

He reminded his American audience that Pakistan had a
key role in the fight against terrorism because it's located
in a region seen as central to the outcome in the war against
terrorism. PTI RBS
PMR