Anti-terrorism efforts need collective steps: Malik

KARACHI: Interior Minister A. Rehman Malik on Sunday said that collective steps were needed to tackle the growing problem of terrorism in the member countries of SAARC.

"Pakistan, Afghanistan and India are facing the same problem of terrorism collectively," he said while talking to media persons on arrival from Bhutan after attending the SAARC Interior Ministers' Conference, at the Jinnah International Airport here.

"De-radicalisation was top of the agenda and even our President Asif Ali Zardari raised the issue with King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz of Saudi Arabia, and they had a detailed meeting in this regard".

Besides, the Minister said that he also raised the issue of kidnapping of the Merchant Navy personnel affecting the whole region.

Even Indian Interior Minister P. Chidambaram also agreed to viewpoint to take measures and tackle the issue of kidnapping in Africa, he said.

He said that non-state elements were also active and it was the responsibility of all the states to face and tackle the issue positively.

Besides, he said that Pakistan gave a suggestion to work on proposals regarding money laundering, drug money and other issues which all related to terrorism.

The member states of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) were further informed that Pakistan was a target of terrorists and lost 35,000 innocent people, faced over 8,000 bomb explosions, and had to face over 3,000 suicide bombings during the last few years, Rehman Malik added.

"We need international help and real time help, and we will share all the data with the SAARC countries," he added.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011