Pakistan and the European Union (EU) have agreed on the importance of inter-religious dialogue to promote tolerance and harmony amidst rising intolerance in the Occident particularly after the bloody attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo last month.
The two sides also reaffirmed that “terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation or ethnic group”, according to the Foreign office statement issued yesterday after Pakistan-EU counter-terrorism dialogue.
The Pakistani delegation was led by Additional Secretary (UN&EC) Tasnim Aslam while the EU team was headed by Mara Marinaki, managing director for multilateral issues, and European External Action Service (EEAS).
Both the sides discussed the challenge posed by terrorism to all parts of the world and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen international cooperation to prevent and combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, it also said.
They also expressed their strong and unequivocal condemnation of recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan, the EU member states and the rest of the world and exchanged views on the steps being taken by both sides to address the threat posed by terrorism.
It should be noted that the EU had strongly condemned the resumption of convicted terrorists in Pakistan after the slaughter of almost 150 school children in a terror attack on a school in Peshawar.
