Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan has called for cooperation among Islamic countries to fight terrorism and extremism and applauded the role of Saudi leadership in this regard, says a press statement issued here on Monday. On invitation of Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Defence Minister Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan along with a five-member delegation participated in the first meeting of the Defense Ministers of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) on November 26, 2017 in Riyadh.
The meeting was chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman. In the meeting, the defence minister acknowledged and appreciated the efforts of Saudi leadership in building partnerships to counter scourge of terrorism and extremism. He outlined Pakistan's key role in the global fight against terrorism and highlighted the continued resolve of Pakistan on the matter despite huge human and financial losses.
The defence minister showcased Pakistan's successful counterterrorism operations and the comprehensive National Action Plan to counter terrorism before the participating delegations, as well as underlined the expertise and experience of the country in this regard. He said that Pakistan is ready to share its experience and capabilities in all four main domains of counter-terrorism ie intellectual, information, counter-financing of terrorism and military, through the forum of the IMCTC aimed at enhancing the ability of its member states to counter scourge of terrorism and extremism, upon their request.
Reaffirming Pakistan's historical and fraternal relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the defence minister assured Saudi Arabia and participating countries of its support and cooperation within the mutually agreed framework of the IMCTC. The IMCTC - a 34-member coalition of Islamic countries - was launched in December 2015 as an initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Since then seven more Islamic countries have joined the coalition. Regarding acknowledgment of Pakistan's leading role in the global fight against terrorism, Pakistan's former Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif (retd) was appointed as Commander-in Chief in March 2017.
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