US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard G. Olson Friday called on Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan at Punjab House. During Interior Minister's visit to US, Pak-US bilateral relations and regional situation was discussed during the meeting. Talking to the Ambassador, the Interior Minister observed that peace in the region was a shared objective of both the countries and close collaboration and enhancing multifaceted co-operation between the two countries was of great significance for achieving shared objectives and goals.
Discussing his visit to the United States, the Interior Minister appreciated White House initiative of convening a conference on countering violent extremism and observed that the need to have serious discussions and deliberations on the issue was never as great as it is today. The Interior Minister reiterated his call that strengthening the local communities, winning the trust of mainstream peace loving majority, building resilience in local communities against radicalisation, addressing the push factors that drive people towards extremism and focusing on education to promote tolerance and communal harmony could form the conceptual bed rock for global action plan in dealing with violent extremism. He complimented US administration and President Obama's stance in clearly differentiating between extremism and Islam.-PR