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00:00:02of
00:00:05of
00:00:10of
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00:00:19in
00:00:41a
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00:01:00the
00:01:00of diplomatic core, foreign
00:01:04guests, distinguished
00:01:05participants, ladies
00:01:08of and gentlemen
00:01:09as salam alaikum and very good morning, it is
00:01:12indeed a great pleasure to join you this
00:01:16morning at this seminar organized
00:01:19by the institute of strategic studies
00:01:23Islamabad to discuss an issue
00:01:26of paramount importance to Pakistan.
00:01:30the region and the wider
00:01:32world. I'm thankful to
00:01:35ambassador
00:01:36and his team and the chairman for hosting the
00:01:40seminar and
00:01:42of all the participants for joining here
00:01:44today. For Pakistan,
00:01:48terrorism is not merely a policy
00:01:50debate. It is
00:01:54continuing story story of sacrifice and
00:01:57valor. For. two decades Pakistan
00:02:01has stood on the front
00:02:03line of this
00:02:05fight, our people have
00:02:09suffered its consequences and our armed
00:02:13forces, police and intelligence
00:02:16services have confronted
00:02:19its with extraordinary
00:02:22courage. Ladies and
00:02:25of gentlemen, more than as my
00:02:27colleagues, more than 90000
00:02:31people lost their lives, our economy has
00:02:35suffered losses exceeding 150 billion
00:02:39US dollars, mind you, Pakistan total external debt
00:02:43is 130 billion dollars, the cost does not
00:02:47end here, terrorism had tarnished
00:02:50Pakistan's image internationally and effected confidence in our
00:02:54of
00:02:56of country, the damage to our reputation and the opportunity lost during the...
00:03:00that time
00:03:01of was incalculable. Pakistan
00:03:05has born a dual burden,
00:03:08fighting terrorism, not
00:03:11countering the
00:03:14of misperception that have too often obscured or
00:03:17sacrifices. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
00:03:21we
00:03:22a remember of the children
00:03:25of the army public school in prashar, we
00:03:28remember
00:03:29of the Bombay. of
00:03:31of mosks, markets and bus stops,
00:03:35the passengers taken hostage a
00:03:37train and the laborers killed for no reason
00:03:41other than where they come
00:03:43from. these are not just
00:03:46statistics, this is the price Pakistan
00:03:50nation has paid and continue
00:03:54of paying. the present government has made the fight against terrorism a
00:03:58national priority. Under the leadership of Prime Minister
00:04:02Mohammad Shahbas
00:04:03of Sharief, we have renewed the national
00:04:07counter terrorism effort and placed greater
00:04:11emphasis on the implementation
00:04:13of the National Action Plan. The Federal Apex
00:04:16Committee has brought together the civilian and military
00:04:20leadership to review the threat and
00:04:23agree on the measures required to
00:04:26confronted. the prime minister
00:04:30approved azme istehkam with the
00:04:34consensus
00:04:35of the provinces and other
00:04:37stakeholders. it brings together
00:04:42of military, intelligence, law enforcing,
00:04:46agencies and diplomatic efforts, supported by
00:04:50a legal and socio economic
00:04:51measures. the aim is to act against
00:04:55terrorists and the network that
00:04:57of sustain them while addressing. the conditions that
00:05:03of of allow extremism to take root. excellencies, ladies and
00:05:07gentlemen, our government has also agreed on
00:05:10measures to strengthen intelligence. coordination and
00:05:14the role the national counter terrorism
00:05:16authority. these efforts require
00:05:20close cooperation between the federation and the
00:05:22provinces. every institution has
00:05:26responsibility and the national effort
00:05:29must continue with unity and resolve.
00:05:33i commend prime minister mohammad share for his
00:05:37determined leadership and sustained attention to this
00:05:41fight.
00:05:43I also play pay tribute to chief of army staff and chief of
00:05:47defense forces, field marshal sayir for his
00:05:50leadership and firm resolve to defeat
00:05:54terrorism. Under his command, are armed
00:05:57forces
00:05:58in close coordination with law enforcement agencies,
00:06:02continue operations against terrorism and their
00:06:06facilitators. They confront this danger
00:06:10daily, often at the... cost their own
00:06:13lives. Ladies and
00:06:16gentlemen, afghanistan transit
00:06:20trade upgraded our economic
00:06:23representation to ambassadorrial
00:06:26level, signed the framework agreement for the
00:06:29feasibility study of Uzbekistan,
00:06:33Pakistan railway through
00:06:36Afghanistan and established a
00:06:40mechanism for consultation between. foreign
00:06:42ministries. our fourmost priority was to urge
00:06:46the affan authorities to take concrete and verificable
00:06:50actions against terrorist groups operating for Afghan
00:06:54soil and to prevent the use of Afghan
00:06:57territory for terrorism against any country,
00:07:01particularly Pakistan. may refer
00:07:04to my own personal visits to
00:07:08kabul in 2025 last year, three
00:07:11visits. after four years tailmate, i
00:07:15visited them 19th of April. I held detailed
00:07:19parls, I spent a day with prime
00:07:22minister, with deputy prime minister Hanvi
00:07:25sab and foreign minister of Afghanistan
00:07:29Muttaqisa. Followed by
00:07:33that, I visited again in
00:07:35July with Uzbek foreign minister. And we have
00:07:39been pursuing since 2022, 23.
00:08:09demands i would say relating to trade e economy,
00:08:13refugees, political matters
00:08:17and whatever he agreed, i held a press conference
00:08:20live telecast in
00:08:23Pakistan and Afghanistan to make sure that the teams in
00:08:27Pakistan do deliver what I have promised there,
00:08:31what is Pakistan ask, only one, please do not allow
00:08:35your soil to be used against any country particularly
00:08:39Pakistan for terrorism.
00:08:45so we continued that
00:08:48momentum, we upgraded the
00:08:51diplomatic relationship to ambassador
00:08:54level, and
00:08:56then i and four minister of China, Mr.
00:09:00Wangi visited Kabul to hold
00:09:03a
00:09:04tri trilateral dialogue in August 2025.
00:09:08These was the sincere efforts on behalf of
00:09:12Pakistan.
00:09:17but the one ask we are not seeing any result unfortunately
00:09:20so far, we did all this because
00:09:24we believe in the Afhan people's future and we
00:09:28want a stable prosperous Afghanistan, the
00:09:32expectation has been and continue to be the Afghan
00:09:36Taliban's authority must honor their counter terrorism
00:09:39commitments and ensure the fan soil is not
00:09:43used particularly against
00:09:44Pakistan. Sadly, as I
00:09:48said, we can no longer ignore the continuing terrorist threats
00:09:52eminating from Afghanistan. United nations monitor report
00:09:56team and the report which information minister just referred
00:10:00to, have documented the presence of TTP in
00:10:03Afghanistan and its close links with
00:10:06Alcaida. This concern is not Pakistan's
00:10:10alone, it is consequences for the
00:10:13security the wider region, as
00:10:17information minister said, just imagine if
00:10:21Pakistan was not fighting this war is a frontline.
00:10:25fighter, this terrorism, god knows, would have
00:10:28spread by now, which parts the
00:10:30globe, our concern is
00:10:33concrete, attacks inside Pakistan are
00:10:37planned, directed and launched from across the
00:10:41border, test inf
00:10:45infiltrate to different mountaineous
00:10:48trains, strike a soldiers and civilians
00:10:52and retreat to their centuries.
00:10:56Pakistan is invested heavily in border
00:10:59fencing and management at considerable
00:11:03financial human cost, but no fence can
00:11:06substitute for real action against these
00:11:09terrorist centuries. Ladies and
00:11:12gentlemen, we have raised our concern
00:11:15directly, patiently and
00:11:17repeatedly. We have shared
00:11:21specific information, what we have asked.
00:11:25is concrete action against these
00:11:29terrorists and the centuries who attack
00:11:33Pakistan from Afghan territory.
00:11:37Despite all these sufferings, let me also share with
00:11:40you, Pakistan is generous and
00:11:42magnanimous. The UN
00:11:46reached to foreign Office of Pakistan and ask
00:11:49for permission, you know that last October
00:11:532025, the... in one day
00:11:56unbelievable number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan and in Bolugistan
00:12:00particularly are also obviously led
00:12:03to the closure of borders of both
00:12:06sides
00:12:08and what did we do despite all
00:12:12that we allowed
00:12:15permission for the passage of humanitarian
00:12:18aid 1000
00:12:22containers which took almost month to
00:12:25pass through the borders, so you can see the
00:12:29Pakistan's approach based
00:12:32on you, our real
00:12:36will to see you Afghanistan develop,
00:12:40prosper. I remember as finance minister of Pakistan, I've
00:12:43been fighting with world bank and IMF in
00:12:472010s for the approval the
00:12:51Kasa 1000 project which was Tajikstan.
00:12:55Afghanistan, Pakistan, which was suspended
00:12:59by the world bank and IMF after
00:13:02the Afghan
00:13:05interum regime, and we have
00:13:09again made
00:13:09some efforts, it's been revived,
00:13:11so you can see the sincerity of pakistan in the
00:13:13entire in the entire
00:13:16process. Excellencies, gentlemen, TDP
00:13:20remains one the gravest threats to Pakistan
00:13:23security. It has been responsible for some the
00:13:26worst tas attacks in our history,
00:13:30including attacks on schools, mosks, markets and
00:13:34security installations. its victims include innocent
00:13:38civilians and the men and women who
00:13:41protected. the BLA 2
00:13:45continues to target civilians and security personnel while
00:13:48seeking to undermine Pakistan's economic development.
00:13:52st activities include the... hijacking the
00:13:56Jafar Express in March
00:13:582025, when over
00:14:02400 passengers were taken hostage,
00:14:06attacks on passengers buses and the targeted killings of
00:14:09civilians in Bojistan as well as the salts on security
00:14:13installations and infrastructure critical to Pakistan's
00:14:17economic development. Excellencies, ladies and
00:14:20gentlemen, these groups do not operate in
00:14:23isolation. they draw on external support
00:14:27and benefit from networks that provide
00:14:30fighters, funds, weapons and
00:14:33training. pakistan is repeatedly called for action
00:14:36against the support and the senturies that enable
00:14:40their attacks. a group that finds
00:14:44safe heaven today to attack Pakistan can use the same safe
00:14:48heaven tomorrow to threat threaten
00:14:51others. terrorism has never respected frontiers.
00:14:56ignoring the TTP and his parents will not make this threat go
00:15:00away, it will only give them time to
00:15:04grow. Let me share with you, when I went in July
00:15:072025 and called called on prime minister
00:15:11Akunt, he was very thankful. He
00:15:15said, first time, the promises made to
00:15:18Afghanistan have been actually delivered within
00:15:22eight weeks and We
00:15:26think we can do business with you,
00:15:30and I very politely reminded prime
00:15:34minister that if you do... not
00:15:37take appropriate actions against the terrorist groups
00:15:41in Afghanistan, the day will come, if your government
00:15:45is there, they will haunt you as well, and you will be
00:15:49facing threats from the same terrorist in
00:15:51Afghanistan. so excellencies, ladies and
00:15:55gentlemen, terrorists do not survive a vacuum, they need
00:15:59money, weapons and political cover.
00:16:02pakistan has consistently shared its serious concern with the international
00:16:06community, about Indian patternage of terrorist
00:16:10organizations operating against Pakistan,
00:16:13including from Afghan soil. We have also
00:16:17shared dossiers with the United Nations and our
00:16:21international partners documenting Indian
00:16:24patternage to test organization working
00:16:28against Pakistan from Afghan soil including
00:16:31TTP and proxies to destabilize
00:16:34Pagistan. From the
00:16:38serving Indian naval commander, I'm sure you
00:16:42would recall Kulboshan Jadev who
00:16:45confessed his involvement in terrorist activities against
00:16:49Pakistan to its henous record of extra
00:16:53territorial assassinations including in North
00:16:56America, Indian state
00:16:59sponsorship of terrorism, all has been
00:17:03well documented. We raised, we raised
00:17:07this. because a principle is at
00:17:09stake when a state uses terrorist
00:17:13groups as instruments of policy against a
00:17:16neighbor, it puts the peace the wider
00:17:20region at complete risk. it undermines
00:17:24international law and relations between the
00:17:27states. such support must be
00:17:30confronted without political considerations or double
00:17:34standards. again, refer to,
00:17:40the developments in the last 24 hours in Pakistan, it's not a
00:17:44political move, it is surely against the
00:17:48manners of terrorism which that province has been
00:17:52hit with in the last decade and a half,
00:17:56can we keep sleeping and looking towards another
00:18:00because it's a looking that is may be deemed to be a
00:18:03political move, no it's not, i can i
00:18:06can guarantee I negotiate in 20
00:18:102014 with the same political party when the 126 days of
00:18:14dharna in Islamwa so this government does not
00:18:18believe but when it comes to the safety and
00:18:21security of or
00:18:25nationals or citizens wherever
00:18:28they live any part of Pakistan I think is the duty the federal
00:18:32government that once it is totally
00:18:36determined that this no solution other than what we
00:18:40have done yesterday, we should have done it, we have paid a
00:18:43very heavy political cost when the last
00:18:47time country was right at the at the verge of
00:18:50default and we had to take very difficult
00:18:54structural measures which are very painful,
00:18:58political cost was paid, unpopularity was
00:19:01there and we recovered a lot because we have
00:19:05saved the country from the you know at
00:19:08the blink of default, the dates are given to Pakistan
00:19:12time and again and we always used to say
00:19:15bravely that come what may Pakistan will not default, I hope you remember my
00:19:19statements of Finance of Pakistan in 2022,
00:19:2223, so you see the
00:19:26life has to go in accordance with
00:19:29peace which you see in other parts the
00:19:32world, so so whether whatever cost a government
00:19:36has to pay, to save the economy, to save the
00:19:40property and lives the people, I think it is never too
00:19:43much, and I think
00:19:46you know the government had no choice but to take the measures we took
00:19:49yesterday and inshallah will implement in totality, you will find the
00:19:53difference in weeks to come and months to come, and I'm
00:19:57sure the province will will will be quite happy
00:20:01to to see the peace back, their lives and and properties
00:20:05save and you know, radicalization
00:20:08ends. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
00:20:12Pakistan is also working to strengthen multilet
00:20:15multilateral cooperation against terrorism. As an elected
00:20:19member the United Nations Security Council, for the years
00:20:222025, 2026, we are bringing a
00:20:26experience and concerns to the Security Council's
00:20:30work. During our current term, Pakistan is
00:20:33taken on the chairmanship the 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee.
00:20:38and served as vice chair the counter
00:20:41terrorism committee as well. These
00:20:45responsibility give us an important role in
00:20:49advancing. international cooperation and the
00:20:52implementation of relevant security council
00:20:54resolutions. Pakistan also
00:20:58chaired the Shengai Cooperation Organization's regional
00:21:01anti-terrorist structure known as rat during
00:21:052025-26. We have used this forum to
00:21:09advance regional cooperation against terrorism. Our
00:21:12bilateral counter terrorism dialogue including with the United
00:21:15States are another part of this effort.
00:21:20We are working with our partners to address common threads
00:21:23and strengthen practical cooperation.
00:21:27Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, the international community
00:21:30has responsibility to support this fight.
00:21:34Pakistan sacrifices reserve recognition, but
00:21:38recognition alone is not enough. We need timely
00:21:42intelligence sharing, access to technology and support for
00:21:46further capacity building of our law enforcement agen.
00:21:51we also need effective international actions against terrorist
00:21:54financing, the supply of weapons and the provision of
00:21:58safe heavens. states must
00:22:01ensure that their territory is not used for
00:22:04terrorism against any other country. our
00:22:08partners must also impress upon the for authorities the need
00:22:12to fulfill their commitments. a
00:22:15threat that endages the region and the world
00:22:19cannot leave. Pakistan to confront
00:22:21alone. Excellency
00:22:24ladies and gentlemen, even as we confront
00:22:28today's threats, we must look at what is
00:22:30coming. Terrorists are
00:22:33adapting, they recruit and radicalize through
00:22:37social media and encrypted
00:22:40platforms. They raise funds
00:22:42through cryptocurrencies and other
00:22:46digital channels that avait traditional controls.
00:22:50young people are increasingly exposed to their propaganda
00:22:54online, they are experimenting with
00:22:58drones and exploiting artificial intelligence to spread
00:23:02propaganda, loan actors radicalized
00:23:06online can strike without
00:23:08warning. modern weaponry is also finding
00:23:12its its way into the hands of terrorist
00:23:16groups, making the task of our security forces,
00:23:20even more difficult, no state or
00:23:23society can combat these challenges alone,
00:23:27we need to share technology, intelligence
00:23:31and experience, above all we need strong political
00:23:35resolve to act against terrorism in all its forms and
00:23:39manifestations with
00:23:40distinction, without
00:23:43distinction or excuse, ladies and gentlemen,
00:23:47excellencies, those kill children in
00:23:50pishar claim to act in name of
00:23:53Islam, they did
00:23:56not. Islam teaches and early holy Quran says very
00:24:00categorically that killing of human being tentamon to killing
00:24:04the entire humanity, it doesn't
00:24:07classify who is human being, a Muslim, a
00:24:10Hindu, sikh, a christian, no,
00:24:14a Jew is killing of human me,
00:24:17tentam to killing the entire. humanity,
00:24:21so using the name of Islam obviously is
00:24:25totally is not true. They
00:24:29are criminals, they speak for no faith or religion
00:24:33and have no nationality or boundary. I'm talking about
00:24:36terrorist. Terrorism must never be
00:24:39equated with any religion, nationality,
00:24:42civilization or ethnicity. Islamophobia
00:24:46divides communities and gives terrorists the propaganda.
00:24:51the they seek, our response must remain
00:24:54firm against terrorism and and clear
00:24:58on this principle. let me also
00:25:02emphasize that counter terrorism must not be used as a
00:25:05pretex to suppress the legitimate struggle of people for
00:25:09self determination in the charter of
00:25:13your nation and the relevant security council
00:25:16resolutions. i'm referring to obviously palestine.
00:25:20cash Jammu and Kashmir and any situation
00:25:24we recently saw what happened between Thailand and
00:25:27Cambodia, it is Pakistan when it has presidency
00:25:31last year, we put theme we ministerial theme
00:25:35we picked up, multilateralism, peaceful
00:25:38settlement of disputes and
00:25:42after 12 years resolution
00:25:452788 was passed unanimous
00:25:48unanimously in this UN security council when i was presiding
00:25:52the UN security council the meeting,
00:25:56it was first time in 12 years, there had been some resolution passed
00:26:00with majority of... or or
00:26:03you know obviously rejected or we told, but it was the
00:26:07first resolution passed with unanimity of all members,
00:26:1115 members the UN security council and
00:26:15and the theme was multilateralism, peaceful
00:26:19settlement of disputes and within
00:26:22days, i think hardly two weeks when the Thailand and
00:26:26Cambodia issue was there conflict, the
00:26:30excepts from this resolution were quoted in
00:26:34the in the discussions and debate in the UN
00:26:37itself, so I think you see
00:26:41her, our intention is very clear, and
00:26:45those used to call Pakistan,
00:26:49probably because the terrorism we have been actually
00:26:52fighting a terrorist or some other
00:26:56state, now they are very happy to call Pakistan
00:27:00a peace maker state. after what we have done in the last few
00:27:04years, it is nowhere other than in Norway
00:27:08forum that by one
00:27:11the P5 countries and boy
00:27:14said Pakistan is become net security provider to this
00:27:18region, our efforts are on
00:27:20record, we did everything possible for
00:27:24US Iran mediation, first time after 47
00:27:28years we brought them, brought them for direct talks on the same
00:27:32table. They shook hand, they said together, obviously on the
00:27:35condition Pakistan must be present, we were present,
00:27:39but it's most unfortunate, the 18th of June
00:27:42agreement was there, but
00:27:44it is most unfortunate that they were violation from both
00:27:47sides, have you given up, no, as as late
00:27:51as just days before in the high week of
00:27:55un general assembly, on the sidelines of New York, we were making
00:27:59all all possible efforts, the whole has
00:28:02further been complicated by Babul
00:28:06Manda and all these are
00:28:10similar sort of different definitions of
00:28:13terrorism, so you know that
00:28:16Pakistan has entered into a joint defense
00:28:20agreement which is known as it was signed in Makkka, so
00:28:24makkah joint defense agreement on 7th
00:28:27of August, it's inaugural meeting took
00:28:30place in in In Istanbul on 31st of
00:28:33August, Pakistan has the privilege and honor to have
00:28:37the first secretary general of three years term, it's headquarters going to
00:28:41be in Raad, a committee,
00:28:45working committee is working on finalizing its organ
00:28:49and other detail and and operation
00:28:52detail, it has a permanent committee which
00:28:56is called SPDC (strategic political and defense committee)
00:29:00which comprises of from three countries from each country, the foreign ministers,
00:29:04the defense ministers, the army chiefs, the idea
00:29:07is not any offensive, the idea
00:29:11is totally objective is defensive, so it is for
00:29:15self defense, and it is nothing which is against any international
00:29:19law or charter, charter 51 are laws the
00:29:23UN for self or the collective
00:29:26defense, that is the
00:29:29you know the lines on which NATO was created.
00:29:32so a real objective is to create peace in this
00:29:36region, to to bring you closeness among the
00:29:40and
00:29:41it is, it is not restricted to these three countries, it has very
00:29:44clear
00:29:46you know clauses which will allow other countries, once we are
00:29:49fully you established, maybe within a year,
00:29:53even other countries can join this this pact and
00:29:57this sovereign defense arrangement and the
00:30:01idea is, think it is high time that this region
00:30:04must find an independent
00:30:07architecture to bring peace and security in this
00:30:11region from far from areas the time has proved,
00:30:15it is probably difficult if not impossible,
00:30:18so let me emphasize
00:30:22that we will obviously we must not
00:30:25be you know ignoring what's
00:30:29happening in the world, the times are very challenging,
00:30:33"the situations need full attention of
00:30:37all the countries in the region, particularly our region, and we have seen
00:30:40the energy supply chain disruption, we have seen the
00:30:43prices, the common man is suffering, again the government whatever could
00:30:47do for the two wheelers, three wheelers, subsidy, remove all the
00:30:51taxes, give refund through through tokens, almost
00:30:5510 over 10 million people are benefiting, so if you take average
00:30:59size of"