Maleeha says Pakistan faces terrrorist threat from external forces

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan’s top diplomat Maleeha Lodhi has told the United Nations that country has “turned the tide” against terrorism through a series of determined actions that led to the destruction of terrorist infrastructures and bases along the Pak-Afghan border region.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly’s Sixth Committee, Pakistan’s permanent representative Maleeha Lodhi said that  terrorism in Pakistan is an unfortunate by product of the political and geo-strategic developments. Pakistan is facing a terrorist threat “primarily supported and financed from outside its borders.”

Speaking in a debate on terrorism, Ambassador Lodhi highlighted measures such as a dedicated counter “terrorism force, reform of the criminal justice system, and an across the-board military campaign” the largest anti-terrorism operation anywhere in the world, to dismantle terrorist infrastructures and bases in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region and Pakistani tribal areas.

While highlighting county’s efforts towards regional peace, she said that Pakistan has sacrificed a lot in war on terror as over 27,000 citizens and law enforcement personnel have embraced martyrdom to to eradicate this menace, with many more injured and maimed for life as well as economic losses of over US$120 billion.

Maleeha said that neither the human nor financial losses have diminished Pakistan’s commitment to fight this menace, adding that it has only reinforced “our will to fight until the last terrorist is eliminated from our soil.”

Success of its counter-terrorism operations had resulted in the sharp reduction of terrorist activities across Pakistan over the past two years, she said. Still terrorism continues to posed a challenge, but its nature has changed.

“The threat that we face today is primarily supported and financed from outside our borders,” the Pakistani envoy pointed out. “We are confident that we will be able to defeat these forces too.” Ambassador Lodhi reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for the OIC position on a consensus-based comprehensive convention on international terrorism.

She reiterated Pakistan’s stance on Indian occupied Kashmir, saying that the proposed convention must be consistent with international humanitarian law and must be differentiated between acts of terrorism and the legitimate struggles for self determination of people living under foreign occupation.

“The malicious attempts by those who seek to manipulate the international consensus against terrorism to justify the suppression of people struggling for their right to self-determination must never be permitted to succeed,” she said in an obvious reference to continuing persecution of people in Kashmir and Palestine.

At the same time, she called for urgent and focused attention to addressing the festering disputes and unresolved conflicts, unlawful use of force, aggression, foreign occupation and denial of the right to self-determination. “Political and economic injustice fuels animosities, breeds hostility and often also leads to violent reactions.

Emphasizing that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, faith, race, ethnicity, value system or culture, the Pakistani envoy also called for addressing defamation of religions and demonization of communities that provoke violent reactions.