MANILA: Pakistan is willing to share its counterterrorism expertise with Philippine security forces, Islamabad’s envoy to Manila told Arab News in an interview on Saturday.
The Philippines’ main security threats come from the Abu Sayyaf militant group, Daesh affiliates and communist rebels.
The Communist People’s Party (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA) are considered by the Philippine government as one of the most significant internal security threats and were also designated foreign terrorist organizations by the US in 2002.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte takes a tour inside the Pakistan Navy Ship Saif docked in Manila on December 14, 2017. (Photo courtesy: Philippine President Office)
Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) was founded in the 1990s. Some factions of ASG have pledged allegiance to Daesh in 2014. ASG mostly engage in piracy and kidnappings for ransom. Experts say the group is fragmented and lacks a central command, operating largely in cells run by different commanders across the Sulu Archipelago in the southwestern Philippines.
“Having vast and valuable experience in the war against terror, Pakistan is willing to share its best practices in fighting terrorism and violent extremism to friendly countries, among them the Philippines,” Pakistani Ambassador Imtiaz Kazi said.
He cited his country’s success in Operation Zarb-e-Azb — a joint military offensive conducted by Pakistan’s armed forces against various militant groups, including the Pakistani Taliban, in the northern areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan launched in 2014 — and the follow-up Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad launched in 2017.
“Pakistan can rightly claim it has won the war on terror, albeit at a costly price. And it is ready to share the Pakistani forces’ capabilities and its experience of operation, namely Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad, (to help) countries in their fight against terrorism,” Kazi said.
He mentioned the successful operations in reference to the 2017 Marawi siege in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, where more than 1,100 people were killed when pro-Daesh militants attacked and held Marawi for five months, leading to massive destruction across the scenic lakeside city.
While Islamabad and Manila have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Combatting Terrorism and Other Crimes in 2005, the ambassador said he is now pushing for Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation between the two countries.
“Once the MoU on Defense Cooperation which is presently under consideration is finally concluded and implemented, I am confident our existing level of cooperation will be strengthened,” Kazi said.
According to Department of National Defense (DND) Assistant Secretary Teodoro Cirilo Torralba III, the Philippines has accepted the final draft of the defense agreement and is now awaiting confirmation from the Pakistani side.
He told Arab News that the Southeast Asian nation could “learn a lot from the experience and best practices of Pakistan on counterterrorism.”
