Islamabad:
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed concern over attempts by the Taliban to export radical version of Islamic laws to the heartland of the country, but supported a dialogue with moderate Islamist groups to defuse the growing insurgency.
The Pakistan government, which has been unable to contain an insurgency in the NWFP's restive tribal areas through military force, last week approved the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation (the Islamic Shariah laws) in the northern Swat Valley region after it was passed with majority by Parliament.
A resurgent Taliban has vowed to enforce Islamic laws across the country while ruling out the possibility of laying down arms following the implementation of Shariah in the region.
"How do we deal with the situation in Swat?" Sharif asked. "They are now threatening to get out of Swat and take other areas into their custody. So we've got to avoid that situation," the top Pakistani leader said in an interview with USA TODAY newspaper.
However, Sharif downplayed fears that the nuclear-armed country could be taken over by Taliban
militants, who are gaining strength both in Pakistan and in neighboring Afghanistan, where they are battling US-led NATO forces.
He also underlined his opposition to the US drone attacks on militant hide-outs in the northwestern restive regions as "counterproductive" and sought dialogue with more moderate Islamist groups.