ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Bosnia on Thursday discussed the possibility of enhancing bilateral defence cooperation.

The discussion was held during the visit of Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sefik Dzaferovic to the General Headquarters for a meeting with Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa.

Mr Dzaferovic was on a two-day trip to Pakistan. It was his maiden visit to Pakistan since assuming the office.

“Matters of mutual interest, regional security and Pak-Bosnia and Herzegovina relations came under discussion,” the Inter-Services Public Relations said.

“Both discussed enhanced bilateral cooperation in various fields, including defence, technical expertise and joint ventures,” it added.

Dzaferovic visits GHQ, meets Gen Bajwa

Gen Bajwa recalled the “strong bond of love and support between people of two countries” and said Pakistan attached great importance to its brotherly relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mr Dzaferovic acknowledged Pakistan’s efforts for peace and stability in the region. He vowed to further enhance bilateral relations between both brotherly countries.

Meanwhile, the two sides during Mr Dzaferovic’s visit to the National Assembly agreed to hold frequent bilateral parliamentary exchanges.

Mr Dzaferovic’s said his country was desirous of expanding ties with Pakistan and expressed the hope that increased interaction between parliamentarians of the two countries would help enhance cooperation in diverse fields.

NA Speaker Asad Qaiser said political and parliamentary engagements between the two countries would solidify the relations and open new vistas of mutual cooperation.

Human smuggling

Minister for Interior retired Brig Ijaz Ahmed Shah said human smuggling from Pakistan was on decline due to effective measures taken by the government.

Talking to Minister for Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina Selmo Cikotic who called on him, Mr Shah said numerous new checkposts had been established by the Frontier Corps and Coast Guards to effectively check illegal human trafficking and intelligence-based operations had been conducted against those involved in the heinous crime, which resulted in continuous drop in the number of cases.

The minister said Pakistan was cognisant of the menace of illegal immigrants who also brought bad name to the country. He said the government was not only taking effective steps to control the illegal human trafficking but also creating economic opportunities in the country to eliminate the root cause of the problem.

He said most of the cases of illegal immigration emerged out of search for better economic opportunities, emphasising that illegal immigrants in most of the cases might be treated humanely since their sole objective was to get better economic opportunities.

Mr Shah said Prime Minister Imran Khan’s special initiative to boost the housing and construction sector in the country was gaining momentum and creating job opportunities. “Availability of better economic opportunity will result in return of the illegal immigrants willingly,” he opined.

Selmo Cikotic, while expressing his gratitude to the warm welcome accorded to him by Pakistan, said the signing of an agreement between the two countries on curbing illegal immigration would further strengthen the existing brotherly relations between the two countries.

The Bosnian minister invited Ijaz Shah to officially visit Sarajevo.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2020