Overview
- Pakistan and the European Union held their 10th bilateral counterterrorism dialogue in Islamabad on Thursday and agreed to strengthen cooperation at multilateral forums, including the United Nations.
- The Pakistani delegation was led by Director General (Counterterrorism) Dr Fareha Bugti and the EU team was headed by EEAS special envoy Anna Strazska, who exchanged best practices on emerging threats such as misuse of cyberspace, exploitation of information and energy resources, and radicalisation.
- The EU formally condemned recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan, expressed solidarity with affected civilians and acknowledged Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts.
- Both sides raised concern about militants operating from Afghan territory, committed to regular institutionalised engagement on counterterrorism, and agreed to hold the next round of talks in Brussels next year.
- The institutionalised dialogue is intended to translate political support into sustained multilateral action and operational exchanges that could boost information sharing on terrorist financing and online recruitment and shape coordinated responses at the UN level.