ISLAMABAD: The seventh meeting of the Pakistan-Russia Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism was held on Wednesday here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Pakistani side was led by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Counter Terrorism Director General Ahmad Farooq, while the Russian side was led by Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department for New Challenges Director Ilya Rogachev. Both delegations included officials from the relevant departments from both countries that were dealing with counter-terrorism.
The two sides discussed a wide-ranging agenda that covered the counter-terrorism situation at the regional and global levels, actions taken by both countries to tackle the menace of terrorism, as well as bilateral cooperation on the issue.
A broad agreement was reached on the fact that terrorism was a common global threat which required cooperative efforts of the international community to be effectively eradicated.
The Pakistan side briefed the Russian delegation about the major successes it had achieved in the fight against terrorism through kinetic actions, as well as the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) on counter-terrorism.
They said this had resulted in significantly improving the security situation in Pakistan. The Russian side highly appreciated Pakistan’s contribution to the global fight against terrorism.
Both sides expressed grave concern over the rising threat posed by Da’esh/Islamic State in the region. While major successes had been achieved in the fight against Da’esh in Syria and Iraq, the return of Da’esh fighters from the conflict zones to their countries of origin or third countries constituted a major security threat to various parts of the world, including this region. It was important for the countries of the region to cooperate to counter this threat, it was agreed.
The two sides reaffirmed the commitment to promote bilateral cooperation for countering terrorism. They also agreed to cooperate at the United Nations (UN) and other international forums for combating terrorism.
The discussions were held in a cordial and frank manner and there was a commonality of views on all issues between the members of both delegations. It was also agreed that the next meeting of the joint working group would be held in Moscow in 2019.
