BIRGU: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Friday that Pakistan regarded the militant Islamic State (IS) group as a terrorist organisation and supports international efforts to counter the threats posed by it.| Sure he does. How about al-Qaeda? The guys slipping over the line of control in Kashmir? |
The sessions were joined by heads of government, including Malta’s Joseph Muscat, Britain’s David Cameron, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, Australia’s Malcolm Turnbull, French President Francois Hollande, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and other representatives from 53 member states. The retreat sessions provided the CHOGM leaders an opportunity to mingle with each other, and have their say in bilateral exchanges away from the public platform. Besides exchange of pleasantries, the heads of government did not miss the opportunity to share with each other their opinions on current global security challenges and the suite of domestic, regional and international policy responses required to counter extremism.
In an informal interaction with other heads of government, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif conveyed Pakistan’s strong condemnation of terrorist activities whether committed by individuals, groups or states resulting in violence or threat of violence. He apprised other leaders that Pakistan was also cooperating with the international community to deal with militancy and fully implemented the UN Security Council sanction regimes against terrorism.
The CHOGM leaders shared views on promoting global partnerships between the Commonwealth and other like-minded organisations pursuing similar agendas and stressed upon the states to invest in preventive measures to protect their citizens from threat of violence extremism. During the second retreat session held with the agenda of implementation of SDGs and migration, the prime minister informed other leaders that Pakistan was facing the issue of migrants and refugees from over 35 years. He stressed that Commonwealth must advocate long-term view of migration with more opportunities for regular and legal migration.