UPDATE - Parliamentary heads of 6 countries meet in Pakistan

UPDATES WITH JOINT DECLARATION

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) - The parliamentary heads of six nations on Sunday agreed to join hands against terrorism and for bringing peace in the region at a conference held in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.

The two-day conference, which focuses on the challenges of terrorism and interregional connectivity, was inaugurated by President Mamnoon Hussain.

The parliamentary heads of Turkey, Pakistan, China, Russia, Iran and Afghanistan along with their respective delegations are participating in the conference.

"Terrorism has affected many countries but Pakistan is its biggest victim since we have lost thousands of lives," Hussain told the participants, calling on them to explore common ground for combating terrorism, maintaining peace and enhancing cooperation.

The speakers criticized the U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision on Dec. 6 to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate Washington’s embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested city.

"The world has rejected the Trump administration's decision and we appreciate the UN General Assembly for adopting a resolution against the U.S.' unilateral decision," Ismail Kahraman, speaker of the Turkish parliament, said.

He added the UN General Assembly’s vote was an important step toward peace in the Middle East.

The UN's 193-member General Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution on Jerusalem by an overwhelming majority, calling on the U.S. to withdraw its recognition of the city as Israel's capital.

A total of 128 members voted in favor of the Jerusalem resolution, nine countries voted against and 35 others abstained. Twenty-one countries did not cast a vote.

Ismail Kahraman thanked the Speaker of National Assembly of Pakistan Ayaz Sadiq for hosting the first speaker conference of the regional countries and said it was going to yield "positive results".

- ‘Crime against humanity’

"Terrorism is a crime against humanity and Turkey will stand with the world to eliminate this menace from the region as we have also suffered from terrorism," Kahraman said.

Pakistan’s Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani rejected the recent U.S. threats to Pakistan and said his country was a sovereign state and was not in the habit of taking dictations from anyone.

He was referring to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's Thursday statement in which he said the American president had put Pakistan on notice for allegedly providing safe havens to terrorists.

Rabbani said the U.S. was pursuing a policy of regime change and bringing destabilization in Muslim countries, particularly in the Middle East and promoting India as "policeman" in the region.

"The world has given a befitting reply to America when 128 nations rejected the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel," he added.

Later on Sunday, the conference issued a joint declaration, extending support to Turkey in bringing to justice the perpetrators of last year’s defeated coup.

"We express our resolve to stand by the Republic of Turkey in bringing to justice the perpetrators of July 15 coup attempt and other crimes," the declaration said.

Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup attempt of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

The 29-point Islamabad declaration also condemned "any decisions and actions which purported to have altered the character, the status or the demographic composition of Jerusalem".

- Combating terrorism

It reaffirmed that terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization, culture and ethnic group.

"We also underline the primary responsibility of states in combating terrorism at both national and international levels. We spoke in favor of effective cooperation in preventing and countering the spread of terrorist ideology and propaganda, including incitement and glorification of terrorism," it said.

It welcomed the recent "significant achievements" in defeating Daesh in Iraq and Syria.

"We recognized that Daesh continues to pose a serious threat to the security and stability of countries of the region and urged for concerted joint efforts to counter this threat," it said.

Last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced that the war against the Daesh terrorist group was over, saying that Iraq’s border with Syria had been completely secured.

Daesh has recently suffered a string of defeats in Iraq and Syria after overrunning much of both countries in mid-2014.

The declaration also welcomed the "valuable achievements" in the framework of Astana peace talks on Syria "to reduce violence, facilitate humanitarian delivery, and provide conditions to find a political solution for Syrian crisis through an inclusive, free, fair and transparent Syrian-led and Syrian-owned process as envisaged by the UN Security Council Resolution No. 2254 (2015) which preserves the political unity and territorial integrity of Syria".

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN officials.