Pakistan to Help Qatar Fight Terrorism
Qatar has planned to set up training academies to combat terrorism and it has expressed its willingness to seek the services and expertise of the Pakistani instructors to impart training courses there.
The plan was discussed Thursday in a meeting between Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah, Minister of Defence Affairs Qatar and the Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
“With the assistance and cooperation of Pakistan, we want to improve our military hardware to be prepared for the uncertain threat of terrorism prevailing in the region,” said the Qatar Defence Minister.
Of late, Pakistan has received significant appreciation from top world powers for the country’s resolve to eliminate terrorism from its soil.
Sir Mark Lyall Grant, National Security Adviser (United Kingdom) called on Nawaz Sharif at PM House on Monday. Paying rich tributes to the sacrifices made in the war against terrorism, Sir Grant commended the Pakistan government for achieving substantial successes in this war.
The admiration from the UK for Pakistan has come close on the heels of NATO’s satisfaction with the Pakistan government’s resolve to fight against terrorism.
General Peter Pavel, Chairman Military Committee NATO, said recently that the scale of counter terrorism campaign by Pakistan is quite large with impressive results in this regard.
Pakistan has launched “Operation Zarb-i-Azb, deploying 200,000 of Pakistani security forces to eliminate terrorism from the country.
It is a joint military offensive conducted by the Pakistan Armed Forces against various militant groups, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, al-Qaeda, Jundallah and the Haqqani network.
Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan and Qatar enjoy strong brotherly relationship which will be further strengthened into sustained economic cooperation for the benefits of both the countries.
He further said that Pakistan, Qatar, and Turkey can set up joint ventures for undertaking defence related manufacturing of military equipment.
The Qatar Defence Minister said that the mutual cooperation between Qatar and Pakistan, led by Nawaz Sharif, will see new heights in the times to come.
“We are desirous of buying Super Mushshak and JF-17 Thunder aircrafts from Pakistan and also want to set up military cooperation and production of equipment in Qatar with the assistance of Pakistan and Turkey,” said the Defence Minister.
Photo courtesy: Pakistan PM Office
