Pakistan, Malaysia agree to boost cooperation against terrorism, narcotics, cybercrime

Pakistan and Malaysia have agreed to strengthen cooperation in counterterrorism, counternarcotics, illegal immigration and cybercrime, with the two countries also deciding to establish a joint working group to enhance coordination between their interior ministries.

The understanding was reached during meetings between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution bin Ismail, who arrived at the Ministry of Interior in Islamabad on an official visit on Saturday.

The two ministers held a one-on-one meeting, followed by delegation-level talks covering a range of areas of mutual interest, including intelligence sharing against terrorists and drug traffickers, combating human smuggling and illegal immigration, and strengthening cooperation in cybercrime prevention.

Both sides also agreed to enhance cooperation between Pakistan’s National Police Academy and the Royal Malaysia Police College, while collaboration in training programmes and coast guard-related matters was also discussed.

Naqvi said Pakistan was keen to benefit from Malaysia’s experience in the coast guard sector and expressed hope that the Malaysian minister’s visit would prove to be an important milestone in taking bilateral relations to the next level.

The two sides also discussed promoting tourism and facilitating visa arrangements between the two countries. Naqvi said Malaysia was an attractive destination for Pakistani tourists and stressed the need to increase work quotas for Pakistanis to enable more people to travel to Malaysia through legal channels.

He described Malaysia as one of the fastest-developing Muslim-majority countries and said Islamabad was keen to further strengthen cooperation with Kuala Lumpur across multiple sectors.

It was also decided that a high-level Pakistani delegation would visit Malaysia soon to follow up on the areas of cooperation discussed during the meetings.

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, the federal interior secretary, FIA director general, IG Federal Constabulary, NACTA national coordinator, DG Passports, Islamabad’s chief commissioner and other senior officials were also present.

Earlier, Saifuddin called on President Asif Ali Zardari at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Saturday. During the meeting, President Zardari called for further strengthening Pakistan-Malaysia cooperation in law enforcement, counterterrorism, narcotics control and combating human-trafficking and migrant smuggling, President Secretariat Media Wing said in a press release.

Welcoming the Malaysian minister and his delegation, the president said Pakistan attaches great importance to its close and fraternal relations with Malaysia, rooted in shared faith, culture, mutual respect and strong people-to-people ties.

The president appreciated the positive progress in strengthening institutional cooperation, particularly in internal security, immigration and legal and judicial matters.