ISLAMABAD - Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday said that counterterrorism dialogue between the United States and Pakistan would help in formulating a joint action plan to eliminate the menace of terrorism.
The minister held a meeting with US Coordinator for Counterterrorism Gregory LoGerfo at the Minis-try of Interior, according to a statement issued by the ministry.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, Acting US Ambassador Natalie Baker and Interior Secre-tary Muhammad Khurram Agha were also present on the occasion.
During the meeting, both sides agreed to further enhance the US–Pakistan relations especially in the areas of counterterrorism, border security and anti-narcotics. They also agreed to make the exchange of information more effective in the fields of counterterrorism and counter-narcotics.
Naqvi stated that since President Donald Trump’s administration came into power, Pakistan–US rela-tions had improved significantly. He commended President Trump’s sincere efforts for global peace and noted that transparency, mutual trust and cooperation were the hallmarks of the bilateral rela-tionship between the US and Pakistan. He emphasized that this was an excellent opportunity to fur-ther strengthen bilateral relations in all areas.
The interior minister underlined that counterterrorism dialogue between the two countries would help in creating a joint strategy. He termed the US decision to designate the banned Balochistan Liber-ation Army (BLA) and Majeed Brigade as foreign terrorist organizations a commendable step, express-ing hope that US–Pakistan cooperation will yield positive results in eliminating terrorism.
LoGerfo acknowledged Pakistan’s geo-strategic importance. He expressed condolences over the loss of lives in terrorist attacks recently occurred in various parts of the country. He congratulated the min-ister and the people of Pakistan on the country’s 79th Independence Day.