We must stand together to defeat terrorism: MEP Sajjad Karim

BRUSSELS: Member of European Parliament Sajjad Karim has declared the need to stand united against terrorism in the wake of attacks in the UK.

Speaking during a debate on a resolution on Pakistan in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Dr Karim explained how the EU must continue to support Pakistan in its fight against terrorism if it is to be defeated.

“Our non-legislative and non-binding resolutions quite often lead to complaints from third countries of factual inaccuracies,” he said.

“Any consideration by an independent and informed eye of this resolution actually betrays an acceptance that external and externally sponsored internal actors in Pakistan are facilitating the terrorist targeting of innocent civilians.

The British MP emphasised that the people of Pakistan “have carried a very heavy burden on behalf of the international community for a very long time—sometimes on very weak shoulders.”

“But it remains the case that our EU policy to support Pakistan in facing the challenges of terrorism and the people of Pakistan remains the right approach,” he added.

Dr Karim founded and leads the Friends of Pakistan group within the European Parliament in 2005. He also chairs the International Trade Committee’s Monitoring Group for South Asia, and has worked on many Pakistan-related issues, including playing a key role in the country gaining the coveted GSP+ trade status.

When challenged at times during a very heated debate, he responded: “When a certain mindset of individual attacks and maims and kills European citizens in Paris, we all say that is wrong. But I say to you, colleagues, this: that mindset of individuals—when they attack us—they attack us for our values and it is that same mindset that then attacks innocent children in Peshawar.”

Karim said that if the EU has the right to stand by its values, it must also stand by those innocent children when they are attacked.