Pak calls for joint efforts to combat crimes

ATHENS (Greece)—Minister for Interior, Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Saturday emphasized the need of joint efforts to rid the region of the menace of serious crimes. He was addressing the concluding session of the quadrilateral meeting being held at Athens, Greece.
Aftab Sherpao is representing Pakistan in the meeting being attended by Ministers for Interior of Iran, Turkey and Greece. Expressing his satisfaction, he said a number of important steps have been discussed to promote prevailing political will in the four countries to rid the region of the menace of serious crimes particularly human smuggling.
The Minister stressed the need for full and prompt implementation of the decisions taken at the conference. The conference, interalia, accepted the offer of the government of Pakistan to host the first meeting of the working group setup by the ministerial meeting in the first quarter of next year in Islamabad.
The important decisions taken at the conference included establishment of a more effective mechanism of exchange of information, introduction of an early warning system especially in case of massive influx of illegal migrants and setting up a network of national contact points to exchange information, practices and know-how in the fields of illegal migration, corruption narcotics and organized crimes.
Aftab Sherpao also held bilateral meetings with the Minister for Public Order of Greece and Minister for Interior of Greece, Iran and Turkey. During the meeting, he exchanged views on bilateral relations with his counterparts from the three countries.
He also discussed ways and means to further strengthen the existing bilateral cooperation for combating serious crimes including human smuggling. Sherpao accepted the invitation of the Turkish Interior Minister for an early visit to Turkey.
In an interview to the Athens based newsier “Kathemirini” Aftab Sherpao said the Ministers, attending the conference were united in resolve to combat serious crimes, which not only pose a threat to the civil society but also have serious implications for security of the states in the region. He said Pakistan was in the forefront of the efforts of the international community to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.—APP