Sunday, May 08, 2011



Sherry meets European Parliament heads in Brussels

ISLAMABAD: Former information minister, Sherry Rehman, who has just concluded a visit to Brussels, where she was to attend the 5th Global Discourse on Kashmir, held a series of meetings with the heads of the committees of the European Parliament on Thursday.
According to a message received from Brussels, she met Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gabriele Abertini, Sub-Committee on Human Rights Chairman Heidi Hautala, Deputy Secretary General for European External Action Service Helga Schmidt and International Crisis Group head Madam Louise Arbour.
Sherry exchanged views on issues of mutual interest and briefed the leaders on the challenges being faced by Pakistan due to the ongoing security situation in Afghanistan. In her meeting with Gabriele Albertini, she apprised him about the steps taken by the government of Pakistan for the empowerment of women, mitigation of the plight of vulnerable sections of the society and the challenges lying ahead concerning rights of minorities. “Pakistan has suffered enormously due to the conflict in Afghanistan, and needs the EU support,” she said.
At the Kashmir Global Discourse summit hosted by the EU’s Parliamentarians Kashmir Group, Sherry spoke at the inaugural session in which she drew attention towards the chronology of Kashmiri grievances against the mailed-fist approach of the Indian government.
She urged all players to include Kashmiri voices in any negotiated attempt to mitigate the trauma of the Kashmiris, and welcomed the resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan.
Responding to growing questions on the security of nuclear assets after the Osama Bin Laden operation, she strongly rejected the propaganda by Western media on this count and emphasised that the assets were in safe custody with a foolproof command and control system.
“Pakistan has been extending cooperation to all counter-terrorism efforts, including exchange of information and intelligence,” she said, adding, “In pursuance of such cooperation, Pakistan has arrested several high-profile terrorists and will continue this crackdown.”
She said that finding Osama Bin Laden on Pakistani soil was a shocking blow to the nation, and deconstructing this crisis will indeed be a challenging moment for Pakistan, but there is no sidestepping it.
The resolve of the Pakistani government and nation to resist non-state terrorism will definitely harden after this episode, but at no point will Pakistanis accept a further intrusion on the ground. Intelligence must be shared if it is actionable with Pakistan’s officials, otherwise it will weaken democratic governments and provide impetus for destabilising dissent on the Pakistani streets. pr

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

Back to Top