JI blasts Western tilt in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 6 (UPI) -- The current leadership in Pakistan has rivaled the former government in its acceptance of foreign meddling in internal affairs, Islamic leaders said.

Liaqat Baloch, the secretary-general of the Islamic political party Jamaat-e-Islami, accused Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari of rivaling former President Pervez Musharraf in terms of Western-slanted policies.

Baloch blamed American forces for imposing a military rule in Pakistan, adding offenses in the Swat Valley in the northeastern tribal areas have led to the displacement of roughly 4 million people, Pakistan's News International reports.

Pakistani forces have pushed into the volatile tribal areas of Pakistan following a collapsed cease-fire agreement with Taliban fighters in early 2008. Meanwhile, suspected U.S. airstrikes continue to pound high-profile targets inside Pakistan in an effort to remove several top Taliban leaders.

Baloch said launching military operations in the name of government reconciliation offered little in terms of solutions, adding Jamaat-e-Islami had called for an unconditional halt to military operations in favor of political dialogue.