ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Russia on Wednesday agreed that terrorism was a global threat.

The seventh meeting of the Pakistan-Russia Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism was held here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Pakistan side was led by Ahmad Farooq, director general, counterterrorism, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the Russian side was led by Ilya Rogachev, director Department for New Challenges of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Both delegations included officials from relevant departments dealing with counterterrorism. The two sides discussed a wide-ranging agenda covering the counterterrorism situation at the regional and global levels, actions taken by both countries to tackle the menace of terrorism as well as bilateral cooperation on the issue, said a foreign ministry statement.

There was broad agreement on the fact that terrorism was a common global threat, which required cooperative efforts of the international community for effectively eradicating it.  The Pakistan side briefed the Russian delegation about the major successes it had achieved in the fight against terrorism.

This had resulted in significantly improving the security situation in Pakistan.

The Russian side highly appreciated Pakistan’s contribution to the global fight against terrorism, it added.

“Both sides expressed grave concern over the rising threat posed by Daesh. While, major successes had been achieved in the fight against Daesh in Syria and Iraq, the returning Daesh fighters from the conflict zones to countries of origin or third countries constituted a major security threat to various parts of the world, including this region. It was important for countries of the region to cooperate to counter this threat,” the statement said. The two sides reaffirmed the commitment for promoting bilateral cooperation for countering terrorism.

They also agreed to cooperate at the United Nations and other international fora for combating terrorism, it said.

The discussions were held in a cordial and frank manner and there was commonality of views on all issues. It was agreed that the next meeting of the JWG would be held in Moscow in 2019, it said.

Meanwhile, Maithripala Sirisena, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka will visit Pakistan from March 22 to March 24.

He will be the “Guest of Honour” on Pakistan Day parade.

The participation of President Sirisena in the parade is a demonstration of the very close ties between Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the respect in which the people and leadership of Pakistan hold the president of Sri Lanka.

During the visit, the Sri Lankan president will meet the president and the prime minister of Pakistan to review all matters of mutual importance.

The memorandums of understanding on cooperation in the fields of training of civil servants, diplomats and youth development would also be signed during the visit.

“The visit will provide renewed impetus to our bilateral relations and enhance the goodwill existing between the people of the two countries,” said a foreign ministry statement.

Separately, on Wednesday, Pakistan strongly condemned the reprehensible suicide attack close to Ali Abad Hospital and Kabul University.

“We are grieved at the loss of precious and innocent lives in this brutal attack of terrorism. We express our deepest sympathies and condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” said a foreign ministry statement.

Pakistan, it said, “reiterates its unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all forms and manifestations and expresses solidarity with the government and people of Afghanistan in their fight against the menace of terrorism.”