Pakistan is determined to deny space to any terrorist group to plan and launch violent activities from its soil, the Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said on Tuesday, adding measures are being taken to choke terrorist funding and accounts worth one billion rupees have been frozen so far.
Speaking at the 6th Ministerial Review of Pak-US Strategic Dialogue Process held in Washington, the Adviser said Pakistan has rendered huge sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, and the country's resolve to finish and win this fight remains unshakable. US Secretary of State John Kerry led the US delegation at the talks. "Our strategy to eliminate the terrorist networks and defeat their extremist ideology is all-encompassing," We are focusing on three fronts that include both kinetic and non-kinetic actions," the advisor told the meeting.
He said that as a result of the ongoing military operation Zarb-e-Azb, the most treacherous and unreachable areas in FATA especially in North Waziristan were now under the writ of the State. The terrorists have either been killed, captured or flushed out of their havens, he added. Secondly, Sartaj Aziz said that in line with priorities of the National Action Plan, the government is taking all necessary measures to launch intelligence-based operations and choke the funding sources of terrorist organisations. "So far, more than one billion rupees worth of accounts have been frozen by the State Bank of Pakistan belonging to the terrorist and extremist organisations."
Multiple actions were underway to defeat the extremist agenda or propaganda of the terrorist organisations through a counter-narrative strategy, he added. The government is engaging the religious scholars and community leaders to establish close contacts with young people in their communities, mosques and schools and discuss issues that provoke radical narratives and misunderstandings.
"Recently in a huge gathering of religious scholars in Islamabad where eminent leaders from across the Muslim world participated, a comprehensive fatwa (decree) was issued declaring ISIL a terrorist group. Similarly, this vast array of Muslim scholars pronounced that killing innocent civilians is not permissible in Islam." The Adviser said that Pakistan has consistently appreciated the US support in enabling its capacity to fight terrorism. "We strongly believe that continued US participation in arrangements meant to enhance our Counterterrorism capacity not only help Pakistan but also advance the US interests."
The Advisor thanked Secretary Kerry for his recent positive testimony on the Capitol Hill and appreciated the public assessment of the US leadership in response to Congressional inquiries that Pakistan has used the F-16s effectively against the terrorists in the region. "The prospective sale of F-16s will strengthen Pakistan's capabilities to successfully continue these vital operations for our mutual benefit and stability in the region," he added.
The Advisor said that the Pakistan government has made concerted efforts in briefing the parliament on areas of positive cooperation with the United States. However, he said that although there had been some efforts by the Administration to keep the Congress informed, more can be done to bring the Congress fully in picture about the positive steps taken by Pakistan to further mutual interests.
The Adviser proposed the various elements that, he said, could be considered for charting out the way forward towards an enduring and multifaceted relationship between our two countries. He said, there was a lot of mutual benefit in taking forward the vision of our leadership to transform this relationship as people-centered. The six working groups should explore all avenues with regard to developing institutional linkages in different areas currently dealt in their respective purview, he added.
Expanding cooperation for enhancing bilateral trade and investment cannot be overemphasised, the minister said and urged the two sides to sit together to work out a mutually acceptable framework to ensure enhanced market access for Pakistani products in the US. On the education front, he said creating opportunities for the talented Pakistani youth in acquiring both educational and entrepreneurial skills from the state of the art US institutes should also be our mutual priority.
He said Pakistan is a water-deficient country and would be extremely important to explore ways and means to address the water issues in the existing working group of Energy. Needless to point out that water scarcity in Pakistan could negatively impact the regional stability with global ramifications, he added. The defence partnership has been a key pillar of our overall relationship and a structured and mutually agreed platform will help in making our defence cooperation serve our enduring common interests, the adviser said.
He also underlined the need for the US cooperation and support for more efficient border management between Afghanistan and Pakistan to help check illegal movement of terrorists and smugglers. Aziz said that engagement between the two countries on non-proliferation and strategic stability will continue and Pakistan hopes to see greater US understanding of Pakistan's security concerns and its desire to contribute actively as a mainstream nuclear power.