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Taliban fight is our war: Zardari

* PPP co-chairman says Pakistan is not ready to become Taliban state

LAHORE: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), if it comes into power, must persuade the people that the fight against militants is “our war”, not just America’s war, party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said on Saturday.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Zardari urged Washington to do more to promote democracy in Pakistan.

Zardari blamed authorities under Musharraf for the widespread scepticism of ordinary Pakistanis towards fighting terrorism. “They have made the people think and realise that we are fighting a war for the sake of the Americans, which is not the true position,” he said.

Not ready: He said the key question was: “Are we ready to become a Taliban state? And the answer is: ‘No, we’re not.’ ... That means we are fighting our own battle, we are fighting our own war.”

A new government of the PPP and its allies “hopefully will redefine the struggle against terrorism and really help the cause of the world rather than be an obstacle to it,” he added.

Earlier, talking to the country’s newspaper editors, Zardari said that all four provinces needed to be made autonomous according to the 1973 Constitution or the country could face collapse. ap

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