ISLAMABAD, Jan 24: A 120-strong jirga of tribal elders called on President Asif Ali Zardari and condemned US drone attacks in their areas.

They said that innocent people were being killed in the indiscriminate attacks.

President Zardari assured them that the country’s sovereignty would not be compromised in the war on terror. He informed them that he had lodged a strong protest with the US ambassador during his meeting with her earlier in the day.

“This time, the menace of terrorism should be overcome through dialogue,” he said.

Referring to terrorist activities in settled areas, President Zardari said there was evidence about the involvement of external elements in terrorism in Swat.

He said the government would promote internal and external dialogue through tribal representatives and it was important to hold talks to resolve the problem of militancy in tribal areas.

Earlier, Mr Zardari said the government would send delegations of tribesmen abroad under the auspices of the Benazir Democracy Institute of the Shaheed Bhutto Foundation.

Addressing a national seminar on mainstreaming of Fata, President Zardari said such interactions would help tribesmen to sensitise the world about the nature of their problems and the need for their resolution.

Terming dialogue vital for resolving all problems, President Zardari said it was through dialogue that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto brought back more than 90,000 prisoners of war from India and retrieved thousands of square miles of land.

Similarly, he said, dialogue had brought back democracy in Pakistan and a dictator was forced to leave.

“Some criminals and deviant people, backed by some foreign elements, are coercing a vast majority of the brave and patriotic people in tribal areas, who are facing hardships because of bad law and order situation in the area,” he said.

Describing tribesmen as worthy warriors, Mr Zardari highlighted losses suffered by the PPP in its struggle against extremism, and said the party had lost “a lot of people and even our leaders, including Benazir Bhutto.”

He said that although the world knew that “we can fight, but we have to show that we can also do things other than fighting”.

“We have to take this region forward on the path of progress and prosperity. We have to make our youths outstanding citizens like doctors and engineers.”

He assured the tribal people that the PPP government would do everything in its power to make the vision of Benazir Bhutto real by bringing peace and development in their areas.

The president said the government would promote public-private partnership for industrialising tribal areas on the pattern of Alaska and Assam.

He said international community had agreed to provide $350 million for establishing ‘Reconstruction Opportunities Zones’ in Fata, but the process had been delayed because of a period of political transition in the United States. The president said that the government would hold talks with the new US administration, which had a new kind of thinking on different issues.