Soomro For Holistic Approach To Combat Terror
By Hina Kiyani

Islamabad—The Chairman Senate, Mr. Mohammedmian Soomro has said that Pakistan's commitment to combat terror in all forms and manifestations is based on principles and it is in line with its own national objectives adding that the country will continue to play its due role in this regard.
He was talking to Member of the German Parliament, Mrs. Elke Hoff, who called on him at the Parliament House here on Monday.
The German Ambassador to Pakistan was also present on the occasion. The Senate Chairman underscored the need to address the root causes of terrorism like poverty, injustice and deprivation and called for adopting a holistic approach, advocating more spending for human development in countries worst affected by terrorism like Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Chairman made it clear that Pakistan itself is a victim of terrorism and it took measures to contain and combat terror much earlier than 9/11. He said that the problem of terrorism and religious extremism had its roots in the Afghan war of the 80's, when the US and the western countries abruptly pulled out from Afghanistan after signing of the Geneva accord.
He called for more intelligence and data sharing among the countries badly affected by terrorism. He said that problem of religious extremism and sectarianism is also an offshoot and fall out of the Afghan war of the 80's.
Highlighting the role of Pakistan for maintaining peace in the region, the Senate Chairman said that Pakistan is sincerely pursuing composite dialogue with India and hoped for its early resumption.
Pakistan is strongly committed to nuclear non proliferation and it denoted the nuclear device in 1998 only to ensure its survival as a sovereign state as there was no other option, added the Senate Chairman.
The Chairman also stressed the need for more interaction between the Parliaments of the two countries besides exchange of students, businessmen and journalists' delegations. He appreciated the role being played by the German Ambassador in Pakistan in further consolidating the Pak-German economic and cultural relations and pointed out that Pak-German Business Forum is very active in this connection.
Mrs. Elke Hoff, who is also a member of the German Parliament's Committee on Disarmament, said that the whole world is beholden to Pakistan for its invaluable role in the war against terror.
She endorsed the view that a more humanitarian approach needs to be adopted to effectively combat this scourge particularly with major focus on human development. She said that Germany is keen to expand relations with Pakistan in the trade and economic fields as well as in culture and tourism. She commended the progress made by Pakistan in various fields during the recent years.
The German Ambassador to the Pakistan fully supported the idea of Pak-German University as visualized by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). He informed the Senate Chairman that more German students will be visiting Pakistan soon. He said that the free Press has a responsibility to report things correctly and objectively particularly in the background of war against terror to remove misperceptions.