ISLAMABAD, Nov 1: Pakistan announced on Tuesday that it had ratified the “Saarc Additional Protocol on the Convention on Suppression of Terrorism”. The formal announcement was made eleven days ahead of the seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit conference being hosted by Bangladesh.

Announcing the ratification of the Additional Protocol of the Convention, the Foreign Office said that the step had once again demonstrated the government’s resolve to fight terrorism and root out this menace from Pakistan and the region.

When Dawn asked the Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam on Tuesday the exact date of the ratification, she said the process had been completed in the last few days. However, she pointed out that it had been in the works for some months.

The Saarc Additional Protocol on the Convention on Suppression of Terrorism is meant to deal effectively with financing of terrorism to eliminate all forms and manifestations of terrorism from South Asia.

The instrument was signed by the leaders of the Saarc member states during the 12th Saarc Summit in January 2004 in Islamabad.

Pakistan has always stood firm to the principles and objectives of the Saarc Charter to promote peace, stability, amity and progress in the region, a Foreign Office statement said. Pakistan will continue to make unremitting efforts to promote the prospects of regional cooperation in South Asia, it said.

The purpose of the Additional Protocol, as set out in its objective clause, is to strengthen the Saarc Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism, particularly by criminalizing the provision, collection or acquisition of funds for the purpose of committing terrorist acts and taking further measures to prevent and suppress financing of such acts.

This additional protocol supplements the Saarc regional convention on Suppression of Terrorism, done at Kathmandu on 4th November 1987.

According to information posted by the Saarc Secretariat on its official website, the additional protocol will come into force on the 30th day following the date of deposit of the seventh Instrument of Ratification. The Saarc website says that the secretariat awaits ratification of the additional protocol by all member states suggesting that Pakistan was the first country to ratify the additional protocol. However, no official word confirming the currency of the information posted on the Saarc Secretariat website could be obtained.

A senior diplomat at the Indian High Commission here when contacted by this correspondent on Tuesday night could also not confirm if India had ratified the Saarc Additional Protocol on the Convention on Suppression of Terrorism.

Saarc comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.