Warning that the global terrorist threat has become "more pervasive," Pakistan on Thursday called on the international community to join hands to combat the menace "urgently and effectively". Speaking in a UN Security Council debate on countering terrorism, Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi said Pakistan had made substantial gains in its anti-terrorism drive, and rejected aspersions being cast by some about its contribution.
"Pakistan has been at the forefront of the global fight against terrorism," the Pakistani envoy told the 15-member Council. "We have lost tens of thousands of lives in this fight, but this has not shaken our resolve to continue this campaign until the last terrorist is eliminated from our soil."
"It is therefore reprehensible that some cast aspersions about our contribution," she said, adding "Baseless accusations only set us back and undermine our joint efforts to counter terrorism." Ambassador Lodhi stressed the need for unity in meeting the terrorist threat, saying that "the need for all States to work together in a co-ordinated and co-operative manner to address this menace comprehensively in all its forms and manifestations, which has never been as compelling as it is today."
"Today, the terrorist threat has become more pervasive and has evolved in complex and unpredictable directions, posing an even greater danger to international peace and security," the Pakistani envoy said. A multitude of small cells comprising terrorists and violent extremists, perpetuating guerrilla-style or "lone wolf" attacks, had emerged.
Noting that the international community had finally acknowledged the need to craft preventive approaches to violent extremism, Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi stressed the need for addressing all its drivers - both local and international - in a comprehensive manner, as very little operated in isolation.
"We must deal with both external and internal dimensions and recognise the complex interplay between local and international factors to prevent violent extremism that leads to terrorism," she said. Stressing the need to recognise the interplay between local and international factors to prevent violent extremism that led to terrorism, Ambassador Lodhi said the focus on prevention should not be at the expense of counter-terrorism measures.
Describing her country's National Action Plan, she said Operation Zarb-e-Azb, launched in June 2014, was the largest anti-terror campaign anywhere in the world, and it had produced remarkable results. A focused campaign was also underway against terrorist sleeper cells, their supporters, sympathisers and financiers, she added. Opening the debate, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on member states to take more concrete steps to stop fund raising through the smuggling of oil and gas, the illicit trade of cultural artefacts, kidnapping for ransom and donations from abroad.
He noted that more than 30,000 people from all over the world have joined Daesh's campaigns in Iraq and Syria, and warned that the terrorist group - also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) - has shown an ability to radicalise and recruit disaffected youth, including women and girls, through strategies involving the Internet and social media.
"We must also curtail the ability to abuse and misuse the Internet and social media to radicalise and recruit young people, by identifying global and regional solutions that involve governments, private enterprise and civil society," the secretary-general told the Security Council.