The Senate Standing Committee on Defence and Defence Production has stated that Pakistan has suffered losses to the tune of 35 billion dollars during the on-going war on terror, while more than 2,250 men in uniform and about 40,000 civilians have been killed in the bomb blasts and terrorist attacks.
A huge portion of the civilian population has been dislocated in the form of internally displaced persons (IDPs), who have also suffered loss of livelihood, said Chairman of the Standing Committee Lieutenant General Javed Ashraf (Retd) here on Tuesday while talking to a delegation of Defence Select Committee of the British House of Commons.
The British parliamentary delegation led by James Arbuthnot, MP, which had a meeting with Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee at the Parliament House. Deputy Chairman of Senate Mir Jan Muhammad Khan Jamali, Senators Tahir Mashhadi, Haji Adeel, Raja Zafar-ul-Haq and Chaudhary Shuja'at Hussain were present in the meeting, while Special Secretary Iftikaharullah Babar and senior officials of the Ministry of Defence were also present.
The meeting stressed the need for enhancing the efforts for promoting international co-operation, especially for providing greater financial resources for carrying on the war on terror to its logical end and to achieve the desired results. It also observed that the on-going war on terror was putting tremendous burden on the country's meagre resources and it was imperative that the country's capacity be enhanced to take on terror networks with greater poise and confidence.
The Standing Committee informed the British parliamentarians, though the commitment of Pakistan to eradicate terrorism in all forms and manifestations flew out of its own conviction and principles, it was imperative to ensure continuous availability of adequate financial resources, training and equipment, besides the much needed intelligence-sharing to sustain the war and to stamp out terrorism, it added.
The Standing Committee Chairman suggested joint control of drones for maximum effect and minimal collateral damage. He said that the on-going operation had the full backing and support of the people, civil society and media, while the army had successfully expelled the terrorists from the places where they were hiding and operating. The Chairman urged the United Kingdom to provide training courses for armed forces in all the three services.
He also urged the delegation to use its influence and good offices to stop supply of weapon particularly explosives to terrorist from Afghanistan. He informed the delegation that in almost every terrorist incident, weapons coming through Afghanistan were being used for causing destruction. He particularly highlighted the fact that sharing of intelligence was necessary to control the menace like IEDs, which were causing a lot of problems.
He also said that the training and exchange programmes with Staff Collage, Quetta, should be worked out to mutual advantage. Head of the delegation James Arbuthnot commended Pakistan's efforts to eradicate terror, and observed that it was really encouraging to see that the ongoing operation had the support of all segments of the society. He said terrorism was a global challenge and required a common approach and strategy.
He endorsed the Chairman's observations regarding exchange of visits and training programmes to mutual advantage of both sides. They also shared the concern over IEDs, and stressed the need for neutralising the threat from them. It may be mentioned that it was the reciprocal visit by the UK delegation, which would also hold talks with their defence counterparts.