World | Updated Feb 20, 2009 at 03:03pm IST

Pakistan a safe haven for terrorists: Hillary

Press Trust Of India

Washington: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that the terrorists have found "safe haven" in Pakistan, a country, which she said is now under greater pressure because of the economic crisis.

In an interview to the ABC news, Hillary agreed with Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair that the economic crisis poses the greatest threat to the security now and this needs to be fixed urgently.

"That is not, in any way, to underestimate the importance of the continuing threat from terrorism, the instability in the Middle East and Afghanistan and Pakistan and elsewhere," she said according to a transcript released by the State Department.

"But this economic crisis, left unresolved, will create massive unemployment. It will upend governments. It will, unfortunately, breed instability," she said.

"I appreciated his putting that into the context of the threat matrix, because look at Pakistan, a country that we know has to be stabilised for the benefit of not only South Asia, but beyond," Hillary said.

"From 26/11 onwards, we are very much concerned about the security scenario. This new development, in a way, adds to our worries, when asked to comment on the ceasefire between Pakistani troops and Taliban militia in the Swat valley, under which Islamabad has virtually surrendered to the demands of the fundamentalists,” says Defence Minister A K Antony.

"It is where the terrorists and their allies have found haven. But the economy in Pakistan is under even greater pressure now because of the global economic crisis," she said.

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