UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has gained “tremendous success” in combating terrorism in recent years, but stressed the need for more international cooperation to eliminate the hydra-headed scourge from across the world, Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi told the United Nations.
“Terrorism and Extremism remain among today’s biggest security challenges, feeding off instability in many parts of the world and also fueling it,” she said in the course of a thematic debate at the first-ever high-level United Nations Counterterrorism Conference at UN Headquarters in New York.
Ambassador Lodhi said the gains Pakistan had made in its counter-terrorism operations had come at a high human and financial cost but this had not diminished the country’s resolve to fight on.
Convened by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, under the overarching theme of “strengthening international cooperation to combat the evolving threat of terrorism”, the conference was aimed at forging a new partnership for multilateral cooperation to strengthen the international community’s counter-terrorism efforts.
In his concluding address to the two-day conference, the UN chief told delegates from member states that he was committed to meeting the challenge of “keeping your citizens safe.”
“We must fight terrorism together, with methods that do not compromise the rule of law and human rights,” Guterres added.
In her remarks, Ambassador Lodhi pointed to the fact that the largest anti-terrorism operation anywhere in the world has been carried out by Pakistan, deploying over 200,000 of its forces. Pakistan, she said, was now consolidating its gains through long-term interventions and adopting an approach that goes beyond military means.
The magnitude and complexity of challenges today were truly imposing, she said but they also open up opportunities, which could be seized so long as “we reinforce and strengthen our ability to cooperate.”
Pakistan, she pointed out, had organized the First Islamabad International Counter Terrorism Forum in April which was attended by counter-terrorism experts, academicians, political leaders and religious scholars from around the world to strengthen regional and international cooperation.
In addition, Pakistan’s National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), a federal authority to counter extremism and terrorism, is hosting a High-Level International Counter-Terrorism Experts Meeting (ICTEM) later this month in Islamabad.
Pakistan had also signed Memorandums of understanding with a number of countries aiming to strengthen international cooperation through sharing of information and expertise in the areas of countering financing for terrorism, cybersecurity, counter extremism and mutual legal assistance.
“We are also working on strengthening the capacities of counter-terrorism and criminal justice institutions in collaboration with the European Union,” the Pakistani envoy said.
Pakistan had constituted a Task Force to review existing Border Control and Security System to align the domestic system with the Global Aviation Security Plan (GASP), she said.
The Task Force, she added, would develop mechanisms for international cooperation for identification and verification of financial profile of Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs), as well as information sharing with foreign governments.
“As a global community, we need to acknowledge certain challenges that need to be overcome to consolidate and synergize our efforts in addressing this issue,” the Pakistani envoy said, while stressing the need to have a secure and sustainable information and coordination mechanism in the field of cyberspace to prevent its abuse as well as the International Cooperation Mechanism to implement UN Security Council 2396 on Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) and devise strategies to address and develop common understanding of the root causes of terrorism and extremism.
Today’s challenges were evolving in new and unpredictable ways, Ambassador Lodhi said, adding, “We need to work together and in unison on our capacity to evolve and adapt to meet them.”
At UN, Pakistan calls for boosting international cooperation to wipe out terrorism
At UN, Pakistan calls for boosting international cooperation to wipe out terrorism
- Pakistan is working on strengthening the capacities of counter-terrorism and criminal justice institutions in collaboration with the European Union
- “We need to work together and in unison on our capacity to evolve and adapt to meet them,” says Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN
Pakistan says Saudi help securing oil supplies as it vows to absorb price shocks amid Iran war
- Petroleum minister says Riyadh, UAE assisting with vessels as Strait of Hormuz closure disrupts supplies
- PSO says petroleum stocks sufficient for more than 20 days of normal demand despite regional disruptions
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Tuesday it was working with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to secure oil supplies and would try to absorb any further global price shocks to shield consumers, after a record fuel price hike triggered by the ongoing Iran war and disruptions to regional energy routes.
Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said the government had coordinated with Saudi authorities to arrange shipments from the Red Sea port of Yanbu, part of broader efforts to stabilize supplies as tensions in the Middle East roil global energy markets.
The conflict escalated after coordinated US and Israeli strikes on Iran late last month, followed by Iranian retaliation across the Gulf and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key corridor through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes. The disruption has driven crude prices higher and raised fears of global supply shortages.
“With the prime minister’s support, and with the help of the Saudi ambassador, we coordinated with the Saudi government to arrange [oil shipments] from Yanbu, which is a port on the Red Sea,” Malik said in an interview with Geo News.
“They are providing tremendous assistance to us,” he added. “The UAE is also extending significant help. We are coordinating with Saudi Arabia, they are arranging ships for us, and they have also arranged a larger vessel. We are trying to have it dock in Oman and then transfer the cargo to smaller vessels, but we are not getting insurance to dock in Oman.”
Pakistan last week raised petrol and diesel prices by 55 rupees per liter, the largest single-day increase in its history, as the government scrambled to keep energy supplies flowing while managing a fragile economic recovery under an International Monetary Fund program.
Malik said authorities had tried to prepare for the crisis by building reserves where possible, though some fuels such as gas could not be stockpiled in the same way.
“These are extraordinary circumstances,” he said. “In this situation, one thing we have tried to ensure is that the public does not face any difficulty in supply in any way.”
He said the government had entered the crisis in a relatively better position after building reserves of several fuels, though the closure of the Strait of Hormuz had created new logistical challenges.
“Even today, you may see minor complaints here and there, and there will certainly be discomfort regarding prices, but at least the supply is available,” Malik said.
Malik said it remained unclear how global oil prices would evolve in the coming weeks but stressed the government would try to cushion consumers from further shocks.
“However, I can say one thing: the prime minister has certainly decided that if any increase does occur, the government will try as much as possible to absorb it so that it does not create additional difficulties for the public, while also ensuring that supply continues.”
SUFFICIENT FUEL STOCKS
Meanwhile, Pakistan State Oil (PSO), the country’s largest fuel supplier, said it had sufficient petroleum stocks to meet normal demand for more than 20 days despite regional supply disruptions.
In a statement issued on Tuesday night, the company said it had secured multiple cargoes of motor gasoline (Mogas) for March and early April through international tenders and government-to-government arrangements.
Two Mogas cargoes from Oman are scheduled to arrive this month, while another shipment has been secured from Saudi Arabia’s Aramco following coordination between Islamabad and Riyadh, it said.
The company added that it had also secured a Mogas cargo for early April and opened another tender for deliveries later that month.
PSO said its current high-speed diesel (HSD) stocks were also sufficient for more than 20 days of normal demand, though supplies from Kuwait Petroleum Corporation had been disrupted after the company declared force majeure due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The company said it was exploring alternative supply routes and additional cargoes to maintain stocks ahead of Pakistan’s upcoming agricultural season, when diesel demand typically rises.
