Foreign Secretary Projects Pakistan’s Perspective in his Speech to the Fifth Ministerial Meeting of the Global Counter Terrorism Forum (GCTF)

Foreign Secretary, Mr. Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry projected Pakistan’s perspective on issues pertaining to counter terrorism in his speech during the Fifth ministerial meeting of the Global Counter Terrorism Forum (GCTF) held on 23rd September on the sidelines of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The meeting was co-chaired by the US Secretary of State and the Foreign Minister of Turkey, and was attended by several Ministers and high-level officials of the GCTF member states.

GCTF was established in 2011 as a platform to identify civilian counter-terrorism needs, mobilize necessary expertise and resources to build state capacities, identify and share best practices in the realm of countering terrorism; and generate political will and understanding on counter-terrorism issues. Pakistan is one of the 30 founding members of the Forum.

In its statement, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry expressed Pakistan’s support for the work of GCTF especially in the field of countering violent extremism and the criminal justice and rule of law sector. He said that Pakistan stood with the international community in dealing effectively with issues of kidnapping for ransom, and the threat posed by the foreign terrorist fighters. He highlighted the efforts of the government of Pakistan in dealing with the scourge of terrorism as well as the numerous sacrifices rendered by the people of Pakistan and its law enforcement agencies in this struggle. He underscored the need for developing persuasive logic in response to radical narratives; creation of conditions that offer economic opportunities to the youth; and addressing political grievances and long festering disputes, including their root causes in order to adopt a comprehensive approach towards dealing with terrorism.

The GCTF meeting adopted several documents containing best practices and recommendations on issues such as countering violent extremism, rule of law based approach towards countering terrorism, kidnapping for ransom and countering the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters.

Islamabad
24th September, 2014

276/2011