ISLAMABAD    -    Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari yesterday urged the interna­tional community to develop victim centric approach regarding terrorism.

In his speech during the high-lev­el segment of the first United Na­tions Global Congress of Victims of Terrorism, the Foreign Minister ad­dressed the challenges faced in con­flict zones. He urged the internation­al community to make protection and promotion of the rights of vic­tims of terrorism a basic tenant of global efforts to promote peace and security. The Glob­al Congress is a two-day high-level event that is being organized by the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT). The objective of the Congress is to raise awareness about the rights and needs of victims of terrorism and promote dia­logue on this issue. The event was also attended by a num­ber of countries at the Minis­terial level. The Foreign Minis­ter expressed solidarity with the victims of terrorism all over the world. He paid spe­cial homage to the oppressed people of Indian Illegally Oc­cupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and Palestine and em­phasized the need to counter state terrorism, especially in cases of foreign occupation. Highlighting the sacrifices made by Pakistan in the fight against terrorism, the Foreign Minister underscored that Pa­kistan was one of the worst victims of terrorism with over 80,000 causalities and eco­nomic losses exceeding $150 billion. He said that Pakistan condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations in­cluding Islamophobic, racially, ethnically motivated and state sponsored terrorism.