Cooperation needed to address terrorism: Pak

March 05, 2015 06:49 pm | Updated April 02, 2016 08:08 am IST - Islamabad

Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar (centre) talks with his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Chaudhry during a meeting in Islamabad on March 3, 2015.

Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar (centre) talks with his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Chaudhry during a meeting in Islamabad on March 3, 2015.

Pakistan on Thursday said like India it is also concerned about terrorism in the region and blaming each other for every terror attack was “not good”.

Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said mutual cooperation was required to meet the challenges of militancy.

“(Terrorism) is a problem that affects all particularly this region,” she said.

“We have our concerns, India has its concerns. Hence, this issue needs to be addressed in a cooperative manner,” Ms. Aslam told reporters at a daily briefing.

She said Pakistan has suffered most because of terrorism and has done more than any other country to counter it.

“We expect similar approach from other countries,” she said.

Ms. Aslam said it was “not good to blame each other for every terrorist attack” and Pakistan expected that at first investigations should be conducted before talking about any incident.

India accuses Pakistan of sheltering terrorists and using them to foment unrest in the country. On the other hand, Pakistan alleges India is helping Baloch separatists.

Terrorist attacks have often derailed talks between the two countries, sometimes leading to hostilities.

The issue of terrorism had figured during Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan as part of his “SAARC yatra”, during the first leg of which he also toured Thimphu, Dhaka and Kabul.

India had called off foreign secretary-level talks at the eleventh hour after Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi held consultations with Kashmiri separatists in August.

Mr. Jaishankar’s Islamabad visit appeared to have provided the two sides to move ahead on the road towards resumption of the bilateral dialogue.

Ms. Aslam said Mr. Jaishankar’s visit took place “in lieu of the August visit as an ice breaker” and it was part of a process.

The Foreign Office official refused to characterise the visit as a “failure” as the two countries have not announced the resumption of bilateral talks.

“The meeting was held in a constructive and positive atmosphere,” she said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.