Pakistan determined to uproot terrorism from its soil: Nawaz Sharif

Islamabad: Asserting that Pakistan firmly believed in the relation between peace and development, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said that terrorism was a common global enemy and said that a collective approach was imperative to combat the menace.
“Working for the achievement of a peaceful neighbourhood is a cardinal principle of Pakistan’s foreign policy. We firmly believe that peace is vital for developed and development is vital for durable peace. Pakistan remains committed to strengthening its relations with all its neighbours and regional countries and promoting regional cooperation and connectivity,” Sharif said addressing the Heart of Asia summit here.

Maintaining that Pakistan has demonstrated an ‘unshaken resolve’ to uproot the menace of terrorism and violent extremism from its soil, Sharif called for a collective approach in combating the menace of terrorism.

“Our consensus base military operation and the national action plan have been remarkably successful in our campaign against terrorism and extremism. We are convinced that terrorism and extremism is the common enemy of all and we need a collective approach to combat this menace,” the Prime Minister said.

As a solution, he suggested that finalisations of borders and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) at the earliest saying that they will be helpful in containing terrorist movement across the border and added that the emergence of Daesh (ISIS) should strengthen the resolve against terrorism.

“We should envisage collected and coordinated measures on regional security front to ensure that gains in struggle and terrorism are durable and irreversible. I’m confident that the Foreign Ministers and heads of delegations of participating and supporting countries will have constructive deliberations to confront the challenges and harness the potential of a well integrated region,” Sharif said.

Meanwhile, he also reiterated Pakistan’s commitment and support to Afghanistan and said that the nation was more than a neighbour as they shared a common religion and cultural affinity since time immemorial.

“Due to close bonds between our people, Pakistan has always stood by Afghanistan. I reiterate what I said in Kabul on 12th May that enemies of Afghanistan are Pakistan’s enemies as well,” Sharif said.

He asserted that the Pakistan government will continue to support the Afghanistan led peace process and called upon the international community to extend its full support to the Afghan peace effort.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the summit in Islamabad today. (ANI)