ISLAMABAD, MAR 21 (DNA) – The 7^th Meeting of the Pakistan Russia Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism was held today in Islamabad at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Pakistan side was led by Mr. Ahmad Farooq, Director General, Counter Terrorism, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the Russian side was led by Mr. Ilya ROGACHEV, Director Department for New Challenges of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Both delegations included officials from relevant departments dealing with counter-terrorism.

The two sides discussed a wide ranging agenda covering the counter-terrorism situation at the regional and global level, actions taken by both countries to tackle the menace of terrorism as well as bilateral cooperation on the issue. There was broad agreement on the fact that terrorism was a common global threat which required cooperative efforts of the international community for effectively eradicating it.

The Pakistan side briefed the Russian delegation about the major successes it had achieved in the fight against terrorism through kinetic actions as well as implementation of the National Action Plan on counter-terrorism. This had resulted in significantly improving the security situation in Pakistan. The Russian side highly appreciated Pakistan’s contribution to the global fight against terrorism.

Both sides expressed grave concern over the rising threat posed by Da’esh. While major successes had been achieved in the fight against Da’esh in Syria and Iraq, the returning Da’esh fighters from the conflict zones to countries of origin or third countries constituted a major security threat to various parts of the world, including this region. It was important for countries of the region to cooperate to counter this threat.

The two sides reaffirmed the commitment for promoting bilateral cooperation for countering terrorism. They also agreed to cooperate at the United Nations and other international fora for combating terrorism.

The discussions were held in a cordial and frank manner and there was commonality of views on all issues. It was agreed that the next meeting of the JWG would be held in Moscow in 2019.