Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Aizaz Chaudhry has reiterated Pakistan's commitment to fighting terrorism and said the resolve of the nation remained strong to root out this menace. He made these remarks at the launching of "A Factsheet on Pakistan's Counterterrorism Effort" at a ceremony held to pay tribute to 122 innocent children who were martyred by the terrorists in Army Public School (APS) Peshawar on December 16, 2014.
The Factsheet details Pakistan's CT efforts and enumerates the price the country has paid in blood and treasure in the fight against terrorism. It specifically highlights the heroic sacrifices of its valiant armed forces and civilian security forces in restoring normalcy in the country in general and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in particular.
The booklet previews the progress made under each point of 20-point National Action Plan (NAP), underlines Pakistan's actions on anti-terrorist financing and lists the steps taken to strengthen National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA).
While commenting on the Factsheet, Marvin G. Wienbaum, Director for Pakistan Studies at the Middle East Institute said the issuance of these facts was a positive step and the booklet was comprehensive in nature. However, he noted that considerable effort was in hand as the job was not yet done.
Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said Pakistan was winning the war against terrorism. He credited the success in this war to the unflinching commitment and supreme sacrifices of the people of Pakistan and its security forces.
The ambassador underlined that the resolve of the nation of Pakistan remained strong to defeat terrorism. He underscored the need for a co-operative and synergetic approach to win the global war against terrorism. He reminded the local audience that terrorism was a common enemy and the world should unite to fight it. The event was attended by South Asia watchers, Pakistani-American community notables and covered by local and ethnic media. Earlier, a delegation of American Pakistani Public Affairs Committee (APPAC), led by Dr Ijaz Ahmed, called on Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry at the Embassy of Pakistan on Saturday. The delegation briefed the ambassador about APPAC's efforts to mobilize the Pakistani American community across the United States.
The ambassador was apprised that APPAC's vision was to foster better relations between Pakistan and the US by projecting a positive image of Pakistan and leveraging influence of the diaspora with US public representatives. The ambassador appreciated APPAC's efforts to establish a platform to bring together Pakistani American community members from all over the United States. He welcomed APPAC's intent to establish chapters in every state and build partnerships with other community organizations. The ambassador extended full support to APPAC's objectives and emphasized that the Pakistani American community could act as a bridge between Pakistan and the US.