MOSCOW: The eighth meeting of the Russia-Pakistan Joint Working Group on Counter-terrorism held in Moscow and discussed wide-ranging issues pertaining to counter-terrorism and reviewed the global and regional terrorism threats.
Ahmad Farooq, Director General Counter Terrorism, Ministry of Foreign Affairs led the Pakistan delegation while the Russian side was represented by Vladimir Tarabrin, Head of the Department of New Challenges and Threats, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, in the meeting held on November 12.
The Russian side recognized Pakistan’s sacrifices and commended Pakistan’s achievements in the fight against terrorism, a Foreign Office statement said issued here. The Pakistani delegation highlighted Pakistan’s efforts in countering extremism, terrorism and terror financing and highlighted progress made in these respective areas.
The Russian side also apprised the Pakistani delegation about various counter-terrorism efforts being taken in Russia.
Both sides expressed grave concern on the threat posed by Daesh, especially the danger of returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) from the conflict zones in the Middle East.
They underscored the importance of dealing with the FTFs threat in accordance with the national laws and resolutions of the UN Security Council.
The two sides expressed satisfaction over the ongoing bilateral cooperation as well as cooperation at multilateral forums including at the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (SCO-RATS) and agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation at these and other multilateral forums. –Agencies
