Pakistan acknowledges India's participation in anti-terrorism meeting, calls terrorism a common challenge

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday acknowledged India's participation in a recent regional anti-terrorism meeting in Islamabad, saying that terrorism was a "common challenge" for both nations.

The 46th Meeting of the Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (RATS SCO) was held in Islamabad on September 14.

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During his weekly media briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan was asked about India's participation in the key meeting, and he confirmed that India's charge d'affaires attended it.

"Participation is there, and we hope that participation will continue because the broader objective is peace and security and fighting terrorism, and it is a common challenge for both countries," he said.

The spokesperson was also asked about media reports regarding Pakistani Sikh pilgrims who were stopped at Faisalabad International Airport while travelling to India to perform religious rituals at Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib.

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"It was reported that the pilgrims were not allowed to board the plane, which is not correct," he said while calling it a "malicious media campaign".

"We were not aware that the Indian High Commission had issued these visas, and the visas were not covered under the 1974 bilateral protocol that exists between Pakistan and India," he further explained.

According to a government official, the Sikhs in question had arranged their Indian visas through the Delhi Mandar Management Committee on their own.

"They should have coordinated with the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee for their travel and preferred Wagah Border for crossing into India," the unnamed official said, adding that it is likely that they may be allowed to go for pilgrimage via the Wagah Border.