A high-level meeting chaired by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf yesterday vowed to curb terrorism and extremism in the country's tribal regions by "fast tracking" economic development of the areas. Musharraf promised socio-economic development in the areas by introducing political and administrative reforms, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted him as saying. "This will open up economic opportunities and curb extremism in these regions," he told the meeting in the garrison town of Rawalpindi. There are seven semi-autonomous tribal regions, each called an agency in the country's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Two of the seven agencies — North and South Waziristan — have witnessed a series of military operations since late 2003, which were aimed at tracking down Taleban and pro-Al-Qaeda militants, hiding there.