‘Ravaged’ Pakistan determined to root out terrorism, General Assembly hears

Pakistan has suffered at the hands of terrorists like few countries have, its Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today, stressing her Government’s firm commitment to defeating this scourge and calling for enhanced cooperation at the global level.

“Very few countries have been ravaged by the monster of terrorism as brutally as Pakistan has,” Hina Rabbani Khar said in her address to the Assembly’s annual high-level debate.

“Our streets are filled with armed police posts. We cannot enter our parks or shopping centres or churches or mosques without being searched and frisked. Terrorists have attacked our military installations, attacked the gravesites of our spiritual leaders, attacked our minorities, and attacked the very idea of Pakistan,” she stated.

“We do not take terrorism lightly. We cannot. We have suffered far too much.”

Ms. Khar declared that Pakistan’s commitment to eliminating terror and militancy is “irrevocable,” and that this requires a comprehensive approach that not only deals with violence but also its root causes.

“It is Pakistan’s firm determination not to allow any space on its territory for militants and terrorists,” she said. “At the regional plane, we must all pledge that our respective territories will not be allowed to be used against others by terrorists.”

She also cited the need to enhance international cooperation to obliterate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, adding that the issue of organizing, financing, arming, supporting and abetting terrorist violence needs to be addressed “seriously and effectively.”

“We must demonstrate complete unity in ranks, avoid any recrimination, build greater trust and more importantly bring about the requisite operational coordination in combating this menace,” she stated. “Otherwise, only the terrorists will gain.”

Ms. Khar said that Pakistan has reached out to all countries to establish mechanisms and arrangements, ranging from intelligence cooperation, mutual assistance in legal and criminal matters, as well as joint operations, where required.

“We believe that this is a global issue and needs to be addressed effectively.”