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Rare intel briefing for Pak MPs on militancy

Zardari summons joint session of parliament

AFP, Islamabad
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has called a joint session of parliament on Wednesday for a rare briefing from army and intelligence chiefs on the battle with Islamist extremists, officials said.
The closed-door briefing comes FROM PAGE 16
in the wake of a suing of attacks across the country, including a suicide bombing last month that destroyed the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, killing60 people.
It also comes amid a spate of strikes by suspected US drones on alleged al-Qaeda and Taliban hideouts in Pakistan, which have raised tensions between Washington and Islamabad, a key ally in the US-led "war on terror".
Zardari made the decision to hold the briefing at a meeting Saturday with army chief General Ashfaq Kayani and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, the government said in a statementSunday.
"General Kayani discussed with President Zardari the ongoing strife in tribal areas and the ways to address the issue of terrorism and extremism," the statement said.
The joint session of parliament will open on Wednesday at 5:00 pm (1100 GMT),itsaid.
Gilani has asked the leaders of the National Assembly and the Senate to ensure that all lawmakers attend what he called a "very important session".
Army and intelligence officials are expected to discuss military opera* uons against al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.
The session is expected to be devoted to building consensus on the government's anti-terror strategy, as some right-wing religious parties oppose the military campaign and instead favour negotiations with the militants.
The United States has stepped up attacks on militants in Pakistani territory since a new civilian government came to power in Islamabad in March and the incidents have become an issue in the US presiden-
tial election.
Zardari has pledged zero tolerance against violations of Pakistan's territorial sovereignty.
A suspected US missile destroyed a house in the North Waziristan tribal region on Friday, killing 20 militants, including some foreign nationals, officials said.
At least six Taliban insurgents were killed as Pakistani troops pounded suspected militant hideouts in the troubled tribal district of Bajaur, officials said Sunday.
Separately local tribesmen supporting a government assault against militants in the region killed three Taliban insurgents on Saturday, they said.
Some 16,000 Afghan refugees have left Bajaur in the past three days after the local government ordered them to leave the area, officials said.
The exodus continues as a three-day deadline ends on Monday, they said.
An estimated 70,000 Afghans, have been living in Bajaur since the late 1970s after fleeing the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
The Pakistan army said last week it had killed 1,000 militants including' al-Qaeda’s operational commander, in the region, Egyptian Abu SaeedAJ-Masri since earlyAugust.
The military admitted that the fighting in Bajaur on the Afghan border was some of the heaviest since Pakistan joined the US-led "war on terror" in 2001.