German Parliamentarians meet Interior Minister
ISLAMABAD:A delegation of German Parliamentarians led by President of German Bundestag, Dr. Norbert Lammert called on the Federal Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan here today. Germany’s Ambassador to Pakistan Dr. Cyrill Nunn was also present during the meeting.
The Minister said that Pakistan derives inspiration and strength from the way Germany reconstructed itself after the Second World War. He said we consider Germany as a model of democracy and have a great deal to learn from the country in areas of good governance, parliamentary norms, transparency and rule of law. Responding to Mr. Lammert’s interest in knowing the political reforms taken place in Pakistan after the 18th amendment, the Minister said that various reforms have been undertaken for strengthening of institutions and the present government is committed to strengthening parliamentary democracy and rule of law in the country. Talking about the situation in Afghanistan the Minister said that the government has welcomed the elections in Afghanistan and will go the extra mile in working with the new Afghan administration. While answering a question about the steps being taken by the government in curbing the menace of narcotics, the Minister said that the government has taken concrete steps to control border management and maintaining close surveillance in this regard. However, Afghanistan is the country which is producing a bulk of poppy crop and narcotics, therefore, there is a greater need of evolving a joint strategy and cooperation of all the regional countries to effectively curb this menace. He stressed that the earlier we address this challenge in a spirit of cooperation the better it would be as otherwise it would have serious implications in future. Mr. Lammert acknowledged the commitment of the present government in resolving the challenges being faced by the country both domestically as well as in the region. He offered Germany’s support for increasing bilateral economic cooperation and institutional development in Pakistan.
