Qureshi meets UK home secretary in London

LONDON: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi met British Home Secretary Sajid Javid in the House of Commons, a press release issued Monday said.

High Commissioner Mohammad Nafees Zakaria was also present in the meeting. Qureshi is currently on a visit to the United Kingdom for the fourth review of the two countries' Enhanced Strategic Dialogue (ESD).

According to the press release, Qureshi and Javid "discussed matters of bilateral interest and reviewed the ongoing security cooperationunder the institutional framework of Enhanced Strategic Dialogue (ESD)”. The two countries’ ministers said their respective nations “reaffirmed their continuing collaboration between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries at the operational level and counter terrorism measures in accordance with the National Action Plan”.

The FM expressed his gratitude to the British home secretary for the latter’s country providing technical assistance and support to Pakistan. Both leaders decided on continuing on with the governments’ “joint efforts for developing the capacity building of public departments and information sharing in the global fight against terrorism, organised crime and illegal migration.”

They also talked about money laundering practices and how to stop it, with Javid interest on behalf of the UK government to be seen “as a partner of Pakistan in their joint efforts in anti-money laundering and to tackle organised crime”.

“Both ministers underscored the importance of working together for the repatriation of stolen financial assets abroad and to intensify domestic efforts for return of this wealth in accordance with international legal instruments and conventions against corruption,” the statement added.

They committed to persist inhibiting “elements who are involved in carrying out malicious campaigns against Pakistan on UK soil to sow the seeds of discord.”

Further, other topics discussed during the bilateral meeting included immigration and visas, with Qureshi updating Javid “about the liberalisation of Pakistan’s visa regime to facilitate British nationals particularly business persons and tourists.”

The foreign minister underscored the need for a dialogue on legal migration which would be in line with the emerging requirement of human resource,” it noted, adding that he said: “Pakistan is rich in human capital.”