Pakistani PM Says Defeating Terrorism Key to Survival

If Gilani is sincere than he has a lot of work to do. Number one is to purge the ISI of taliban/al qaida sympathisers. Number two is to deny the taliban and al qaida any safe havens inside Pakistan.AP

SLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Hours after a suicide attack killed eight people, Pakistan's prime minister said in an Independence Day speech Thursday that the country must defeat extremism to survive.

As investigators sifted through the bloodied attack site in the eastern city of Lahore, Yousuf Raza Gilani admitted Pakistan "is passing through a difficult phase."

"We have to fight back the challenges of terrorism and extremism," the premier told an audience in the nation's capital, Islamabad. "The war against terrorism and extremism is the war of our own survival. With the people's cooperation we will fight this war and ensure the government's writ at all costs."

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A Taliban spokesman said Tuesday's attack was revenge for Pakistani military operations against militants in the frontier region near Afghanistan. The spokesman, Maulvi Umar, said it was an "open war" between the militants and the armed forces, and threatened more attacks if the offensives did not stop.

During his speech Thursday, Gilani also said that Pakistan has emphasized to the United States that it "cannot allow any unilateral action on Pakistani soil."