Senator Jack Reed, Ranking member of the SASC, accompanied by US Ambassador Richard G. Olson called on the Federal Minister for Finance, Senator Ishaq Dar here on Wednesday. The Minister briefed Jack Reed about the ongoing operation Zarb e Azb, which he said was the major offensive against terrorists and a manifestation of the government and people's resolve to put an end to the menace of terrorism.
He said the armed forces, all the political parties and the civil society were on the same page in the war on terror as they believed that eliminating terrorism was the key to peace and stability. He added that the government faced severe financial crunch due to the heavy cost of the anti-terror offensive and economic liabilities arising due to displacement of a large segment of the tribal population. Finance Minister said that the government had already incurred over 400 million dollars in terms of expenses on Operation Zarb e Azb and assistance provided to the IDPs. The estimated cost to be met in this regard, he said could go over 1.3 billion dollars.
Secretary Defence, Lieutenant General Mohammad Alam Khattak (retd) who also attended the meeting added that along with the two million IDPs, the presence of over three million Afghan refugees added to economic difficulties faced by Pakistan. He said this was the time that needs and requirements of the people in affected tribal areas were properly heeded with focused investment in health and education to kill any chances of militancy rearing its head again. The international community should take due cognisance of the situation, he said.
Senator Jack Reed said that undoubtedly the fight against terrorism had to be a mutual effort and international community's support to Pakistan is a must to overcome this problem. He said one could see that operation against all the terrorists was being undertaken without any differentiation. He said it was also good to see positive attitude from the Afghanistan side when it came to ending the scourge of terrorism.
Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar also on this occasion mentioned about the recently concluded IMF 6th review. He said despite difficulties, the Government had continued with its programme of economic reforms and successful conclusion of the 6th review was a manifestation of the turnaround in the national economy. He also referred to recent visit of the Afghan President to Pakistan and said Pak-Afghan co-operation was headed for positive growth including co-operation on anti-terrorism.
The Minister, concluding the meeting said that three high profile meetings with bilateral and multi-lateral development partners had been held and programme for rehabilitation of IDPs as well as flood affectees had been chalked out in consultation with all stakeholders. He said Pakistan welcomed assistance from the international community in this regard.