ISLAMABAD - Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari yesterday urged the international community to develop victim centric approach regarding terrorism.
In his speech during the high-level segment of the first United Nations Global Congress of Victims of Terrorism, the Foreign Minister addressed the challenges faced in conflict zones. He urged the international community to make protection and promotion of the rights of victims of terrorism a basic tenant of global efforts to promote peace and security. The Global Congress is a two-day high-level event that is being organized by the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT). The objective of the Congress is to raise awareness about the rights and needs of victims of terrorism and promote dialogue on this issue. The event was also attended by a number of countries at the Ministerial level. The Foreign Minister expressed solidarity with the victims of terrorism all over the world. He paid special homage to the oppressed people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and Palestine and emphasized the need to counter state terrorism, especially in cases of foreign occupation. Highlighting the sacrifices made by Pakistan in the fight against terrorism, the Foreign Minister underscored that Pakistan was one of the worst victims of terrorism with over 80,000 causalities and economic losses exceeding $150 billion. He said that Pakistan condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations including Islamophobic, racially, ethnically motivated and state sponsored terrorism.