Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, for the first time, has admitted that his country had fathered extremists, which were seen as 'heroes' by the people of the country.

"Let us be truthful to ourselves and make a candid admission of the realities. The terrorists of today were the heroes of yesteryears until 9/11 occurred and they began to haunt us as well," Zardari told a meeting of former senior civil servants in Islamabad some days ago.

Zardari's statement clearly suggests that he is concerned over the Islamic militants who have virtually declared war against the state striking in any part of the country at their will.

During an interview with The Daily Telegraph, recently, Zardari had acknowledged that the extremist groups were once considered "strategic assets" of the country, but stressed that they do not enjoy the same support now.

"I don't think anybody in the establishment supports them any more. I think everybody has become more wise than this," he said while confirmed that the Army was now targeting those it had previously used as proxies in attacks on India.

Though Islamabad has always denied its links with banned extremist organisations such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), these Islamic terror groups have long been regarded as Pakistan's 'proxy forces'.

The LeT is believed to have been created to fight with the Afghan Mujahideen against the former Soviet-backed Najibullah regime in Kabul and to attack Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir. (ANI)