Pak, EU to strengthen dialogue in counter-terrorism

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Islamabad, Feb 9: Pakistan and European Union (EU) have agreed tocontinue and strengthen their dialogue and cooperation in the field ofcounter-terrorism.

The agreement was reached during talks between Pakistani officialsand members of an EU delegation that visited Pakistan from February 7-9.

Gijs M de Vries, EU Counter Terrorism Coordinator led thedelegation and held talks with additional foreign secretary. Mr deVries also met Chairman Senate Wasim Sajjad, Foreign Secretary RiazMuhammad Khan and other senior officials.

''The objective of these discussions is to deepen Pakistan-EUunderstanding and cooperation in the global campaign against terrorismin all its forms and manifestations,'' foreign ministry spokespersonTasneem Aslam said in Islamabad today.

Five previous rounds of discussions between the EU and Pakistanhave been held so far in Islamabad and Brussels since November 2002.

''The EU Counter Terrorism Coordinator expressed deep appreciationof Pakistan 's strong role in the field of counter-terrorism and thebilateral cooperation extended to many EU countries in this field,'' MsAslam said.

She quoted him as telling Pakistani officials that being amoderate and modern Muslim country, Pakistan had a very important roleto play in the world especially at the time when there were so manymisperceptions.

Mr de Vries stressed the need to counter radicalisation whereverit may occur while Pakistan side emphasised the need to address theroot causes of terrorism.

She said during the talks, Pakistani officials highlightedIslamabad's policies to promote moderation and to counter extremismwithin Pakistan and the initiatives to promote the resolution ofoutstanding disputes in the Muslim World.

''It was stressed that in order to counter extremist tendencies,it was vital to improve socio-economic conditions, and in this respectthe EU, which is Pakistan's major trading partner can and should playits role in increasing trade access for this South Asian country,'' thespokeswoman said.

''The EU needs to take action against terrorists and theirsupporters who were residing in EU countries, and are targetingPakistan,'' officials told de Vries, who assured that Islamabad'sconcerns would be conveyed to the EU and its Member Countries.


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