LONDON (APP) - President Asif Ali Zardari has said there is a broad-based consensus on the operation against militants and extremists in Swat. The whole nation has full confidence in the ability of the Army to meet the challenges to the countrys national security, the President said during an interview to the Financial Times. He told the daily that the governments policy on war against militancy is based on three Ds - dialogue, development and deterrence - this is backed by the national parliament. Asked how well prepared Pakistan is to deal with the exodus of people from Swat and adjoining areas, the President said relief and rehabilitation of internally displaced persons is a critical issue for the country. Perhaps never before in the history of mankind have nearly 3m people been displaced in a short span of two weeks. The magnitude and scale of displacement is awesome. He pointed out that the government has made special allocation for the relief of the IDPs. A special support group was established to facilitate the provincial government in registration, camp management, medical and education facilities, and procurement of supplies for relief activities. The government also organised an international donors conference in Islamabad to urge the international community for support. We realise the serious limitations of the government in this task. By a conservative estimate rehabilitation of IDPs will cost billions of dollars. This is in addition to the economic loss suffered due to loss of earnings of 3 million people of Swat from agriculture, tourism, mining, trade and transport and the economic loss becomes huge. We also realise that if the displaced people are dissatisfied they can easily become a prey to the propaganda of the militants. Democracy could suffer a serious blow and the militants will gain more strength if the issue is not addressed urgently and effectively, the President said. Explaining the policy of three Ds, he said the NWFP government entered into negotiations with local elders in Swat, who promised that the militants would lay down arms and not challenge writ of the state in return for a system of speedy justice called the Nizam-i-Adl regulation. The Nizam-i-Adl regulation was first enforced in 1994 and amended in 1999. It was again amended in 2009 in accordance with the demand of the people. The Nifaz-i-Adl regulation 2009 is an improvement on the regulation of 1999 and is not Nifaz-i-Shariat (enforcement of Sharia), as is claimed by some. Although under the constitution I as the president could sign and approve the regulation, I sent it to the parliament for discussion and debate. The parliament through a unanimous resolution asked that the regulation 2009 be enforced in the Swat and Malakand. That is how it became a law. President Zardari said in spite of meeting this demand, the militants neither laid down arms nor stopped challenging the writ of the state. They openly defied the state, the parliament, the constitution and the judiciary, even going to the extent of declaring the parliament and the judiciary as un-Islamic, he said. The militants even demanded that the Qazis (Islamic court judges) be appointed by them although, according to the regulation 2009, the Qazis were to be appointed by the government in accordance with the laid down procedure. They then went into Buner, Lower Dir and the adjoining districts challenging the writ of the state and at the same time setting up their own courts. Under the circumstance, the President said the government was left with no alternative but to resort to deterrence and the security agencies were tasked to clear the area of the militants and restore writ of the state. This is the reason of our resort to force, he told the interviewers. The President said they have also appealed to the international community to step forward and help Pakistan in providing immediate relief to the displaced people. The US, UK, France and many other countries have promised assistance. In about two weeks time I would be travelling to Brussels where the EU summit will also take up this issue as well as our request for access to Pakistani goods to their markets. It is a challenging task and with the help of the international community we are meeting the challenge head-on. The President termed the campaign against militants and extremists a fight for our very survival. The future generations will not forgive us if we fail. We cant afford to lose it. Defeat is not an option for us. Admitting that extremism and a militant mindset is a serious threat, he said it would be an exaggeration to say that the militants pose an existential threat to his country. The militants do not have the capacity to pose an existential threat to our country. An overwhelming majority of the people are against them. The civil society and the political forces will never allow it. This factor alone is enough to say that the militants will never be able to overrun Pakistan no matter how much disruption of normal life they may cause. Asked about rising anti-western sentiments in Pakistan, President Zardari said this has been due to the fallout from cold war mistakes when Pakistan and Afghanistan were abandoned after the Soviet withdrawal. Another reason for this has been the support to dictatorship in Pakistan given by some western countries. The militants have also tried to project the war against them as the western-inspired war. The unpopular dictator (former president General Pervez Musharraf) lost political space to this mindset. Further, respect for Pakistans sovereignty and support to its democracy are essential for addressing the anti-western sentiment. The world should not only hear but also listen to us. The President pointed out that a number of western countries have pledged help but much more needs to be done. The world must realise that if the militants are not stopped at the borders of Pakistan then the peace of the region, indeed of the world, will be threatened. It is in the interest of not only Pakistan but also the entire international community to contain militancy and militants. On being asked about any danger of Pakistan drifting back to military rule, the President said democracy is best suited as a form of governance. A democratic government is not only best suited to deal with the situation, it is perhaps the only course available. It was due to democracy that we have been able to build national consensus and give political ownership to the war against militancy. He noted that under dictatorship, the fight against militancy was fought whimsically without building national consensus. That is why many within Pakistan and abroad suspected that the dictator (Musharraf) was running with the hare and hunting with the hound. Democracy, the President asserted, has given ownership to the war and the nation is united against the militants. We are convinced that a democratic government is best suited to deal with the challenge. He declared that Pakistan will fight the militants and extremists wherever they may be in the country. There are difficulties but we cannot abandon our duty to fight the war for our survival and also to win it at all costs. We cannot allow the militants to capture state power through the use of gun and impose their obscurantist agenda on the people of Pakistan. Nor can we allow them to hold a nation of 170m people hostage. We expect the international community to support us in this endeavour. The President welcomed Barack Obamas new strategy for Pakistan and Afghanistan and felt that it places correct emphasis on the developmental aspect of the war against militancy. Our people also need to see a visible expression of international assistance and support. Poverty and underdevelopment breed terrorism. We feel that there is need for a Marshall Plan for the development of the region to defeat extremism in the long run. The world needs to support Obamas strategy and take it in that direction. Welcoming the election in India and the formation of new government in New Deli, President Zardari said Pakistan had strongly condemned the Mumbai attacks and extended full cooperation to India in the investigations. Unfortunately, however, India suspended the composite dialogue process with Pakistan after the Mumbai incident. Pakistan has reiterated the importance of sustained and constructive engagement to the Indian side to defuse tensions and address each others concerns through dialogue. The resumption of dialogue is in the interest of peace in the region. Responding to a question, President Zardari said PPP has a history of sacrifices for the cause of the people and democracy and its leadership has never buckled under threats of security. Security is important for all politicians, no doubt particularly under the present circumstances. There are risks involved but political leadership has to take risks. Leaders cannot confine themselves for fear of their lives. That is why all government and political leaders including myself have visited IDP camps despite the security risk. He said Pakistan was interested in the drone technology as this will help it to take out the militants instead of others violating countrys sovereignty in dealing with the militants.