Pakistan, EU reaffirm pledge to combat terrorism

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the European Union Tuesday expressed their strong and unequivocal condemnation of recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan, the European Union member states and the rest of the world and exchanged views on the steps being taken by both sides to address the threat posed by terrorism.
They also discussed the challenge posed by terrorism to all regions of the world and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen international cooperation to prevent and combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
These views were discussed during the Fourth EU-Pakistan Political Counter-terrorism dialogue held at the Foreign Office under the framework of the EU-Pakistan 5-year Engagement Plan.Ms. Mara Marinaki, Managing Director Multilateral Issues, European External Action Service (EEAS) represented the EU.
The EEAS involved in the EU’s external actions on counter-terrorism says its political outreach through specific political dialogues on counter-terrorism are held with a range of countries and institutions, including the UN, the US, Russia, Canada, Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Australia.
A statement from the Foreign Office said the Pakistani delegation was led by Additional Secretary (UN&EC) Ms. Tasnim Aslam.Pakistan and the EU will be exploring ways for further strengthening this relationship including at the multilateral fora, in particular at the United Nations. Views on the ongoing EU-Pakistan cooperation on issues pertaining to counter-terrorism also came up for discussions.
Tuesday’s dialogue comes immediately after a high-profile visit by the European Parliament South Asia delegation chaired by Jean Lambert, which also comprised Richard Howitt, Michael Gahler and Sajjad Karim.
Earlier, Ambassador Lars Gunnar Wigemark, the head of the EU Delegation to Pakistan, told The News: “The upcoming European Union-Pakistan Counter-Terrorism Dialogue will see the EU more than ready to increase its cooperation with Pakistan in the global fight against terrorism in all its forms, including on issues relating to financing of terrorism”.
The Fourth EU-Pakistan Political Counter-terrorism dialogue saw both sides reaffirming that terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group and agreed on the importance of enhancing intercultural and inter-religious dialogue and understanding to promote tolerance and harmony.
Of special worry to the EU is the rising number of Muslim youth who are leaving homes to take up arms with the ISIS, and the numbers keep growing where even young girls are flying out to join these militants.
The EU has been skeptical of a recent decision of the Pakistan government to hang terrorists and made several public statements against lifting the moratorium on the death penalty.
The Foreign Office statement did not comment on how this issue was handled during the talks, but Ambassador Lars told The News that though there was nothing in the international law preventing the establishment of military courts, such courts must guarantee due process, including the right to appeal”. He called it a “regressive step”.
Pakistan meanwhile says the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which it is a party provides that the countries which have death penalty in their laws may restrict its exercise in most serious offences only, and nothing can be more serious than the acts of terrorism.