Smuggling of narcotics played major role in promoting terrorism, as drug money is being used by terrorists to continue their nefarious activities, said Rehman Malik, Federal Minister for Interior here on Tuesday.
"Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are a 'lethal weapon' which needs to be snatched from the terrorists to ensure peace in Pakistan and at the same time in the region," Malik said during his joint press briefing along with US Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law, William Brownfield and in his address to inaugural session of the 4th Ministerial-level Strategic Dialogue which started here on Tuesday.
Pakistan and United States Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism met here on Tuesday in which Interior Minister Rehman Malik led the Pakistan side while US Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law William Brownfield represented the US in talks. The talks were also attended by CIA representatives and stakeholders in the strategic partnership.
During the dialogue the two sides discussed matters related to war on terror and to strengthen relationships that were strained after the unilateral US raid in Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden.
The two countries discussed matters related to enhancing professional capabilities of the law enforcement agencies in wake of the new strategy announced last week by the Obama administration. Malik said that effective and practical measures were being adopted to keep a close check on the preparations of the IEDs with the active support of the US. The IEDs known as home-made bombs are responsible for killing of thousands of human life in the country.
"More that 11,000 people were killed in Pakistan due to the use of improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) by terrorists and the production of such bombs should be halted," the minister said. He said that legislation would be enacted soon against locally produced bombs and amendments to Anti Money Laundering Act would also be made.
He said that Pakistan and its security forces were being attacked from across the border from Afghanistan, which had enhanced the concerns of Pakistan regarding the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. "It is point of serious concern for us that our security forces and mainland are being attacked through the IEDs by the terrorists," he added.
He said that suicide bombers were using fertilisers for making IEDs and there were different methods to detonate these devices that include use of remote control devices, stop watches and by chemicals reactions. During the forensic examination these IEDs have been detected in various suicide attacks in the country, he added.
"We need to adopt common strategy to combat the menace of terrorism and extremism effectively and protect the lives of our people," Rehman Malik said. Responding to a question about delay in issuing Pakistan's visa to some US citizens, Interior Minister said "Yes there are some certain reports. There may be some procedural hitches but there is no refusal. The law applicable to other countries is also applicable for the US."
To another question, Malik said that majority of attacks had been conducted in the bordering area of Pakistan and Afghanistan and there were clear violations from Afghan side. "The matter was raised with Afghan President Karzai and the there is need to protect our boarders with a special check on terrorist coming from Afghanistan to avoid terrorist activities," he said.
He said that he would visit Afghanistan or his Afghan counterpart would visit Pakistan to discuss measures to stop such matters. Pakistan will continue to fight terrorism in collaboration with US and will eventually eliminate it, he added. Malik thanked the US for its support in capacity building of Pakistani law enforcers, saying, "We are grateful to US for their help and support, their senior officials are here and we will learn a lot from them".
Giving details about the damages caused by IEDs, Malik said that around 11,024 people died and 25,291 were injured in incidents involving (IEDs) while 1972 buildings, 79 bridges, 360 electric poles and 231 railway tracks were also destroyed by IEDs in various areas of Pakistan.
William Brownfield, the US Assistant Secretary, said that the main agenda of the strategic dialogue was to save lives of people around the world, especially the lives of people of Pakistan, Afghanistan and America. He said that the two sides were set to discuss matters related to enhancing professional capabilities of the law enforcement agencies in view of the new strategy announced by the Obama administration.
He said the meeting also discussed ways and means to curb the use of IED explosives and highlighted other bilateral issues. "Pakistan is a sovereign and independent country and has its own laws and no country in the world can dictate Pakistan," Brownfield said in response to a query regarding the visa issue.
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