ISLAMABAD: Urging parliamentarians to work for global peace and prosperity, President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday said the world needed collective efforts to stop wars and conflicts.

“Parliamentarians can play a significant role in promoting international peace and conflict resolution as the world collectively needs steps to stop wars and bring peace for which parliamentarians of the world should work,” the president said while meeting President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Mr Duarte Pacheco, who called on him, at the Presidency.

The president underscored the need for increasing parliamentary cooperation among the member countries of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development around the world.

He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to IPU’s mission to work for peace, democracy, human rights, youth empowerment and sustainable development through political dialogue and parliamentary action.

The president briefed the visiting dignitary about the contribution made by Pakistan in the war against terror. He said that Pakistan had lost thousands of people and security forces personnel, besides suffering economic losses of over 100 billion dollars while fighting a long battle against terrorist elements.

Mr Alvi highlighted that Pakistan had successfully defeated the terrorists and had achieved major successes in this regard. The president said Pakistan had hosted millions of Afghan refugees for over four decades which spoke volumes of the humanitarian spirit of the country. He expressed the hope that the visit of Mr Duarte Pacheco would help to further strengthen parliamentary relations between the Parliament of Pakistan and IPU’s member parliaments.

President Alvi informed the delegation that IPU was an important platform, as it shared its experiences and knowledge of different types with other member countries. He expressed his heartfelt condolences over the recent terrorist attack on a mosque in Peshawar and condemned the barbaric attack.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2023