Islamabad (December 24, 2017): Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Sunday said Pakistan had suffered a loss of 120 billion dollars to its economy since 9/11 due to cowardly acts of terrorism.
While addressing the three-day Speakers International Conference at a local hotel, Ayaz Sadiq said, “The colossal damage to global economy can be gauged from the fact that since 9/11, Pakistan, alone, has suffered a loss of over 119 billion US dollars to its economy because of such cowardly attacks.”
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He said that the problem had been aggravated further by the corresponding rise in the illicit drug trade, which had largely remained unchecked and throbbed as the major source of terror financing.
“Why has the global coalition against terrorism consistently failed to control and destroy the booming poppy cultivation? The increased production facilities and the expanding drug trade is a question that many fail to answer” he said.
Ayaz Sadiq termed the gathering of six countries speakers in Islamabad as a historic occasion and noted that the parliamentary heads of these nations had arrived here for the first time to reaffirm their commitment to shared peace and prosperity and forge new grounds of mutual cooperation.
“It is a defining moment when we, the chosen representatives, take a giant step to meet the aspirations of our people to live side by side in respect, trust and friendship”, he added.
“It is a new turning in the dictum’s of multilateralism when parliamentary diplomacy leads the executive towards a new regional alliance for collectively addressing the common challenges,” he added.
He said the representatives of the six countries has assembled here, represented a quarter of the total humanity on this planet and 3 percent total force.
He said, “The recent controversy, created around the status of the Holy city of Jerusalem is not only a move to violate the International Law and the related UN resolutions but also a deliberate attempt to undermine the peace efforts. It is a move to divide the people of the world further and fan religious animosity.”
Ayaz said, “The 18th December’s fateful vote in the Security Council, where 14 countries could not convince one country to show respect to the plight of the Palestinian people further reminds us that the world needs a more just and equitable order, based on respect for principles and ethics.”
He said this was also the beauty of parliamentary diplomacy through which the real representatives of the people could negotiate peaceful settlements of all outstanding disputes, this should be the spirit of this Conference as well.
Underlining the need to condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, he said Pakistan had repeatedly called for negotiated settlements of all disputes, which plagued humanity and advocated home grown solutions to the regional problems.”
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