Pakistan's anti-terrorism role stressed

MULTAN, Pakistan, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Yousaf Reza Gilani says the United States under any administration cannot ignore Pakistan's strategic importance in the anti-terrorism fight.

"Whoever wins the U.S. presidential elections, Pakistan will be needed and will remain a front-line country in war against terrorism," Gilani told reporters in his hometown Multan, a major city in the Punjab province, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

Maintaining that his country is following a prudent foreign policy, Gilani said the U.S. government has assured Islamabad that Washington supports and respects Pakistan's sovereignty.

He said in the military's campaign against militants, tribal leaders have assured that "no foreigner or terrorist will be offered shelter by the tribal people and whosoever will do so will face punishment," the report said.