Pakistan ? Pakistan’s new prime minister vowed Saturday to make the war on terror his No. 1 priority, but said peace talks and aid programs could be more effective than weapons in fighting militancy in tribal areas along the Afghan border.

It was the new government’s latest rebuke of President Pervez Musharraf’s military tactics, which many Pakistanis believe have led to a spike in domestic attacks.

Washington is seeking reassurance that Pakistan’s new coalition government will keep the pressure on extremist groups using the country’s lawless northwest frontier as a springboard for attacks in Afghanistan and beyond.

In his first major policy speech since his swearing-in, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said boosting government services to the region could lure tribesmen away from extremism.

“Our tribal areas have long suffered from backwardness. There is a dire need for comprehensive economic, social and political reforms because poverty and illiteracy is promoting terrorism,” said Gilani, a loyalist of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.