LAHORE, Jan 23: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Friday that the government and the army were jointly preparing a plan to bring the situation in Swat under control.

Talking to reporters at Lahore airport, Mr Gilani blamed a ‘foreign hand’ for the unrest in Swat and said that Uzbeks, Chechens, Arabs, Afghans, Taliban and local militants, aided by drug barons, were involved in fighting in the valley. He said that terrorists who were destabilising Swat had no religion and did not belong to any territory or country.

“It is high time for the government to revisit its policy in Swat and develop a viable strategy,” he said.

The prime minister said the government was addressing the problems confronting the country, including terrorism and the deteriorating law and order situation.

Mr Gilani said that Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League-N had their own manifestoes, but had entered into a coalition on the basis of a reconciliation formula given by former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

He said President Asif Ali Zardari would himself divulge details of his meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

He said the Punjab government must remain stable and work to resolve issues confronting the people of the province. “Both parties must try to ensure that the government is not destabilised,” he said.

Replying to a question, the prime minister said he had no objection if anybody wanted to welcome deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.

Answering a question about the case relating to disqualification of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif, Mr Gilani said: “We will cross the bridge when it comes. We cannot speculate at this point.”

Replying to a question about use of Punjab government’s resources against the federal government, he said the PML-N was a responsible party which had also seen difficult days and he hoped it would demonstrate maturity in its actions.

He said the people had voted last year to bring about a change for the cause of democracy and against dictatorship. Now, it was the duty of political parties to safeguard the country’s interests from forces having malicious designs against it, he said.

About the terrorist attacks on Mumbai, he said the chief minister of the Indian state of Gujarat had backed his stance that mere information could not be treated as evidence.

He said Pakistan had no extradition treaty with India and “we need to alter the Anti-Terrorism Act to try a case about an offence committed in another country”, but that would take time.

He said the government would never hand over any citizen to any other country. “If a Pakistani will be found involved in any subversive activity, he will be tried in accordance with Pakistani laws.”