ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: Pakistan and Russia have worked out the modalities for general coordination to understand each other's perspectives on strategic security, defence and counter-terrorism measures, official sources said here on Tuesday.
The understanding was reached during formal talks of the second session of the Pakistan-Russia Joint Working Group on Terrorism held at the foreign office on Tuesday when the 13-member Russian delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Anatoly Safonov, began the two-day talks with Pakistani officials on strategic security and counter-terrorism issues, officials said.
The Pakistani side, led by the Additional Secretary Toheed Ahmed, included officials from two intelligence agencies, ministries of defence and interior and anti-narcotics force.
The second session of the Joint Working Group discussed the matters impacting regional stability. The two sides discussed issues of mutual interest within the framework of campaign against terrorism, religious extremism and narcotics control, a statement issued by the foreign office said.
During the meeting, idea to develop new checklists, standard operating procedures and rules of engagement in the anti-terror cooperation were discussed.
Other key issues discussed during the meeting included Pakistan-India relations, situation in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pakistan highlighted the need to preserve the strategic balance in South Asia.
"Both sides had identical views on international and regional issues of mutual interest and they expressed satisfaction over the existing friendly bilateral relations," the foreign office said after the meeting.
During the talks, the foreign office said, concrete steps for cooperation in the campaign against terrorism, eradication of illegal drug trafficking and expanding mutual cooperation in multifarious fields was discussed. Discussion on sharing of intelligence, including use of technology both traditional and newly-developed to combat terrorism, came under discussion.
