Regional connectivity shared goal, terrorism common challenge: Mandviwalla

ISLAMABAD, Oct 14 (APP):Senate Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla has urged the international community to shun double standards and discrimination, giving the peace a chance to flourish for regional and global development.

Addressing the 3rd Conference of Speakers of the Parliaments in Istanbul (Turkey), he said regional connectivity could only be achieved with peace and security, while terrorism was a global challenge and Pakistan continued to lead the global war on terror as a front line state for almost two decades now.

Speakers and parliamentary heads from different countries are participating in the conference, titled “Countering Terrorism and Strengthening Regional Connectivity,” said a Senate Secretariat press release issued here.

“In the fight against terrorism, Pakistan has lost more than 70,000 precious lives, and suffered a loss of over $130 billion to its economy,” Mandviwalla said, adding “despite a successful cleansing, our national resolve to defeat and banish terrorism from its roots remains firm.”