Pak suffered over $ 119bn loss since 9/11: Ayaz

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq here on Sunday said Pakistan had suffered a loss of over 119 billion dollars to its economy since 9/11 due to cowardly acts of terrorism.

Addressing the three-day Speakers International Conference here at a local hotel he 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.”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 tow-ar-ds a new regional alliance for collectively add-ressing t-he common challenges,” he ad-ded. 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.

“Three countries among us, namely China, Russian Federation and Iran, rank among the top six nations with the largest deposits of natural resources in the world”, he observed.

The speaker said that China and Pakistan alone provide half of the world’s cotton adding, “The untapped resources of Afghanistan could make it the richest mining region on Earth while its mastery in infrastructural construction industry has brought Turkey to the top rankings in the world.”

Ayaz Sadiq said that the post cold-war world had proved to be more dangerous and insecure than the bipolar era. On one side, the rise of unipolarism has given way to unilateralism and global hegemony, while on the other, the ideals of respect for international borders and nations’ sovereignty are in danger with the introduction of the phenomenon of non-state actors, he added.

He said that the seemingly unending spate of terrorist attacks during the last ten years has rocked every corner of the world, claiming over two hundred thousand lives.

“Almost half of these unfortunate victims were from our region”, he added.

Ayaz said, “Most of our respective countries have faced the maximum brunt either through the Al-Qaida, the Taliban, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement and now the eminent threat of the DAAISH.”