Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday urged the West to help Pakistan in defeating the growing extremism and terrorism with integrated and holistic approach.
He was talking to Special Representative of France for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Pierre Lellouche, and the Special Representative of Britain, Sherard Cowper-Coles separately, who arrived here on Saturday and discussed matters of mutual interest including counter terrorism and the overall regional situation.
The Foreign Minister briefed the two Special Representatives about the efforts being made by the government towards building a national consensus on fighting extremism and terrorism in the country through a comprehensive national strategy.
He apprised them of the progress being made in this regard in the Parliament, which is currently debating the report and recommendations prepared by the All Party Parliamentary Committee on National Security. The Foreign Minister also briefed the two Special Representatives in detail about the expansion of relations and co-operation between Pakistan and Afghanistan during the last one year.
He said it was necessary for our two countries to continue strengthening the mutual trust and confidence, as the destinies of the two countries are inter-linked. Qureshi underlined the need for the international community to understand the complexities of the issues involved, saying that the challenges confronting our region could only be addressed through a holistic approach.
The Foreign Minister thanked France and Britain for their support to Pakistan at the recently held meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan in Tokyo. French Special Representative, Lellouche conveyed President Nicolas Sarkozy's strong support to the democratic government of Pakistan in its efforts against terrorism and those aimed at strengthening civilian and democratic institutions. He said France was fully aware of the problems confronting our region and was looking forward in contributing effectively to their resolution.
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