Senator Rehman Malik addresses high-level conference on counter-terrorism

Minsk: Former Interior Minister and Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior Senator A. Rehman Malik has presented his paper and addressed Regional High-level Conference on Counter Terrorism under the theme “Countering terrorism through innovative approaches and the use of new and emerging technologies” in Minsk city of Belarus.

The Regional High-level Conference was organized by the United Nations Office of Counter- Terrorism together with Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and was attended by a large number of Member States and international journalists and observers with local law enticement agencies.

Senator A. Rehman Malik attended and represented the Pakistan wherein he exchanged his experience on counter-terrorism strategy. He presented Pakistan’s narrative on war on terror and counted the sufferings and sacrifices of Pakistan because of terrorism and war on terror.

He has also highlighted the India State sponsored terrorism in Indian Occupied Kashmir, situation in Kashmir after revoking of Article 370 and 35A and urged the International Community and India has caged innocent Kashmiris and it is 30th day of curfew in the presence of millions of Indian regular troops. He appealed to the IPU to take notice of the worst kind of human rights violations help to stop this genocide and ethnic cleansing to reduce the majority population into Minority population.

In his opening remarks, Senator Rehman Malik said ‘’I am honored to be speaking at this International High-level Conference on Counter Terrorism under the theme “Countering terrorism through innovative approaches and the use of new and emerging technologies”. He said that our shared agenda for countering terrorism through innovative approaches and the use of new and emerging technologies recognizes our common responsibility for eradicating the basis in the rise in terrorism while living within the natural boundaries of the world.

He said that our ambitions trace all lives and we remain accountable to all people and to each other in the pursuit of our shared goal but we ensure that the rights of group or minority be fully protected .He said that he feels it a great opportunity to develop the consensus about the prevailing trend of Terrorism in the world and building of a common will to countering it through Innovative approaches and by the sustenance of emerging Technologies. He said ‘’I believe it will help to strengthen our collective efforts to combat terrorism in all its forms as today one of the gravest threats facing our world is Terrorism.”

Senator A. Rehman Malik stressed that today we are living in a world where the threat perception with different dimensions is increasing day by day and the international community has so far failed to come up with collective response to these growing serious threats of terrorism. He said that today, the world is less peaceful than the past and becoming more dangerous with every passing day adding that we see every day some incidents of violation happening somewhere in the world. He added that it is unfortunate that terrorism is now being used to achieve political and ideological goals and the magnitude is increased and it has appeared as a monster in the form of syndicates and well organised crime.

He said that it is now international fact that wars bring miseries and bread terrorism which has stood established since the end of the World War -II. He said that most recently his book ‘’Daesh/ISIS; Rising Monster Worldwide’’ was launched that brings to light the rising phenomenon of violent extremism under the banner of DAESH/ISIS which is bent upon disrupting and destroying internal, regional and international peace and stability.

Senator A. Rehman Malik in his speech said that the most common causes and roots of terrorism include clashes of civilizations and globalization and at individual level the reasons for terrorism are frustration, deprivation, negative identity, conceited rage and moral disengagement.

Senator A. Rehman Malik further said that he was constrained to say that terrorism has also developed a tool of war which can be termed as an act through guerrilla or act of violence on specific targets by creating terror of terrorism and it is unfortunate that the world is developing a dangerous trend of creating and training groups to act as terrorist to achieve the specific targets against the enemy country. He said that in short, terrorism is not legally defined in all jurisdictions; the statutes that do exist, however, generally share some common elements. Terrorism involves the use or threat of violence and seeks to create fear, not just within the direct victims but among a wide audience.

Pointing out the historical background of terrorism Senator A. Rehman Malik said that USSR was defeated by Jihadis in Afghanistan duly supported by CIA and that gave birth to terrorism and extremism and multiple terrorist organizations as those Jihadis were left jobless by CIA soon after USSR disintegration. He said that CIA had recruited thousands of disgruntled Muslim elements and criminals from Europe and Canada and launched them with full military training in Afghanistan via Pakistan for their own goals and objectives.

In his address to the Parliamentarians from across the world, Senator Malik said that he can safely claim that the birth of Taliban and Al Qaeda would have not been evolved if the USA had not left these remnants of Jihadis jobless in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He said that presently, the Hindu extremist Sangh Parivar and mainly its Central Organization Rashtriya Sawayem Sevakh Sangh (RSS) are spreading violence and extremism across the India in order to eliminate the minorities residing in India particularly in Indian Occupied Kashmir and this is a new phenomenon in the form of RSS ideology based on religious extremism duly investigated by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom declaring in its 2004 recommendations, proposed that India be included on the State Department’s official shortlist of the worst religious persecutors for its “egregious, systematic, and ongoing” violations of religious fights.

Exposing the India State sponsored terrorism and brutalities against innocent people of Indian Occupied Kashmir (ioK), Senator A. Rehman Malik said that Indian Forces under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committing unprecedented brutalities in Indian Occupied Kashmir in terms of mass murders, mass blinding through pelleting, enforced disappearances, tortures, rape, political repression and suppression of freedom of speech including the complete lock down of the daily life by Indian Forces in Indian Occupied Kashmir.” He said that since August 5th, 2019 Indian government has imposed curfew in Jammu and Kashmir resultantly people living there have been deprived of the basic amenities of life and been caged in their own homes without any access to groceries, food, water, medicines and even the baby food. He urged the member states to take notice of the Indian brutalities against innocent Kashmiris who are struggling for their legitimate right of self-determination under UNSC resolutions. He informed the conference that the infants are dying without food and medicines and many deaths have been caused because of the lack of medicines.

He said that the one month long lockdown has in Indian Occupied Kashmir has put millions of people including women and children in the largest prison of the world and there is complete media blackout and people are in state of imprisonment and siege. He stressed that all kinds of human rights are being violated by Indian Forces yet the world is a silent spectator of the situation. He said that the government of Prime Minister Modi illegally scrapped the special status of Kashmiris by revoking the Articles 370 and 35-A, in violation of 11 Resolutions being passed by UNSC on Kashmir wherein the status of Kashmir. He said that the United Nations Commission for Human Rights in its report dated 14th June, 2018, has highlighted in detail the brutalities committed by Indian Government and states ‘’alone, since January 1989 till 31st January 2018, 94,644 innocent Kashmiris have been killed, 7,099 were killed in custody, 11,042 women were gang-raped and 7,485 were injured by pellets.’’

In his detailed speech, Senator A. Rehman Malik counted the sacrifices of Pakistan in war on terror and said ‘’no country had done more than Pakistan to end terrorism and no country had suffered as much as Pakistan, both in terms of loss of human lives and damage to infrastructure, in the struggle against terrorism and extremism.’’ He said that the Pakistan has done much more for peace in Afghanistan and in the region than any other country.

He said that back in 2008, when he became the Interior Minister of Pakistan, it was his obligation to keep the security conduct of my country under control. He said that in order to keep the security in check, he had introduced the policy of suspension of all cellular networks in all sensitive parts of the country during public holidays or whenever there was a national security threat and with this very unique counter terrorism strategy, during my complete tenure as the Interior Minister, he had successfully abated the terrorists who could not succeed in their nefarious designs.

Senator Malik emphasized that the world leaders have now identified the common enemy –terrorists and all should move towards devising a common counter-terrorism strategy. He said that we will not be able to counter the menace of terrorism unless international community moves with collective counter measures and common strategySenator Rehman Malik suggested the conference that the way terrorists have modernize themselves with the use of advanced technologies and weaponries, it is about time that the world community should also find new ways, technologies and counter strategies in order to put an end to these never ending tragedies caused by Terrorism. He urged that the international community needs to carry out some next level counter terrorism approaches and strategies collectively to inflict a heavy blow upon this mammoth of terrorism. He urged that the international community has to find ways and means to finish injustice to oppressed communities like Palestinians and Kashmiris.

He requested the IPU to raise the voice against India to stop brutalities against Kashmiris and ask the Indian government to uplift the curfew immediately and restore normal life in Kashmir. He urged that United Nations should send peacekeeping missions and Red Cross with a Commission of human rights to investigate sheer violation of human rights.