Saudi Ambassador Ali Awadh Asseri said here on Friday that the leadership of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are absolutely determined to eliminate terrorism and in this regard their security agencies and interior ministries are working in close cooperation. Ambassador Asseri said this at a special news briefing on the recent visit of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to Saudi Arabia. Referring to prime minister's meetings with the Saudi leadership, he said: "The two leadership showed absolute determination to continue cooperating to eliminate the curse of terrorism from the two countries. They reiterated their resolve to do everything possible to ensure that the germs of terrorism are uprooted without any loss of time." When asked to specify the mechanism for counter-terrorism cooperation, the Saudi ambassador said: "Our security agencies and interior ministries are working very closely."
He side stepped a question regarding exchange of intelligence between the two countries but said as a consequence of the Prime Minister's visit the cooperation would increase. Asked if the Saudi Kingdom would extend financial assistance to Pakistan to fight terrorism, ambassador Asseri was non-committal, saying: "We help in any way we can." He agreed with a questioner that 9/11 terror attacks in the US had brought Pakistan and Saudi Arabia even closer, noting that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were both suffering equally from religious extremism. He repeatedly referred to terrorists as "deviant citizens" with a "hidden agenda."
Sharing his thoughts on the eve of third anniversary of 9/11 attacks, masterminded by Saudi citizen Osama bin Laden, Ambassador Asseri said it was very sad in the world history and it put the Muslim Ummah through a tough test as it faced a vicious campaign against Islam. He said: "Let us hope and pray that the last three years have proved that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. That it is a peaceful religion of love and justice and that even though some Muslims were involved in the 9/11 terrorist activities, 9/11 had nothing to do with Islam and Muslims." |