Address 'root' of terror, Musharraf says

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Central Asia needs more than military efforts to combat regional terrorism, former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf told an audience at Brown University.

The former military general has been outspoken on the global terror effort while on a lecture tour in the United States.

In his speech at Brown University, Musharraf described Central Asia as a center of activity for transnational terrorism, something he said required a comprehensive effort to overcome.

"Don't be stuck in the short-term solution," he said in comments published by the university. "Go for the root."

His comments come against a backdrop of a series of exchanges between India and Pakistan regarding regional terrorism issues.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said recently Islamabad had evidence to suggest New Delhi had known about terrorist activity in the volatile tribal belt, though he avoided making formal charges.

New Delhi, for its part, claims the government in Pakistan is training Islamic insurgents in the Kashmir region, where two decades of conflict have claimed close to 50,000 lives.

Despite the exchanges, Musharraf said social issues are in part to blame for much of the extremism in the region.

"(The) military will not provide peace alone," he said.