Islamabad: Minister for Interior Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday said Pakistan had overcome a long and dark decade of terrorist victimisation and instead of letting detractors define its identity, the country has turned around the picture from being a “victim to victor of terrorism”.

“Pakistan has showed strength and perseverance of its people through political leadership who stood united in dealing with the menace of extremism and terrorism and that Pakistan will no longer be treated as the victim of terrorism but rather a country that has established its credentials as a victor against the menace,” he said this while inaugurating a three-day Islamabad International Counter Terrorism Forum (IICTF).

National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) is organising the forum to provide ample opportunity to portray the country’s positive image as a nation of courage, perseverance and resilience.

Iqbal said successive policies of the government helped tackle militancy and extremism in the country through robust measures.

“We are determined to eliminate extremism from the society in all its manifestation through adoption of appropriate counter-extremism strategies and narratives,” he said.

Iqbal said, “the road to peace and stability has been very rough and full of challenges, but I can say with pride that our efforts have borne fruits. The incidents of terrorism have fallen sharply since 2013 when the present government came to power. Our resolve to fight forces of extremism and terrorism is unmatched and will continue unabated.”

The minister said political leadership supported NACTA in all its endeavours to make Pakistan a country free from extremism and violence.

He said the government had managed to reshape course of national economy as per promise made in 2013 which was evident from the fact that the international rating agencies were now acknowledging Pakistan as one of the top few emerging economies of the world, who were earlier describing it a sinking economy.

The minister said the country also witnessed tremendous progress in energy sector and succeeded in breaking the backbone of terrorism.

He said the menace of extremism had almost been eliminated, and economy witnessed rapid growth while energy crisis also had been overcome.

The minister strongly condemned brutalities in Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian forces and said the voice of Kashmiri people could not be suppressed through guns and brute force. The Indian forces must stop bloodshed of the innocent people.

He said the world should focus on Kashmir issue and play their role to resolve the long-standing issue.

In his welcome address, NACTA’s Coordinator, Ihsan Ghani, said the basic objective of the forum was to highlight Pakistan’s endeavours and achievements in its war against terror.

He said Pakistan had suffered huge human and financial losses in its war against terrorism, yet its journey from “victim to victor of terrorism” had no parallel in contemporary world.

“This story of sacrifices needs to be shared with the world. This also necessitates a discussion on upcoming challenges and threats not only to Pakistan’s security but also to the regional and global stability,” he added.

He said the objective of the forum was to bring together leading international and Pakistani experts, scholars, practitioners, think tanks and opinion makers in the area of counter-terrorism to deliberate on the current situation and future challenges and response.

The target audience is think tanks, academia and researchers relating to security, terrorism and counter-terrorism.

The forum has also engaged diplomats, governmental officials, parliamentarians, politicians, United Nation agencies, international organisations, aid agencies, media, civil society and world community at large.

There would be nine sessions in all, three plenary sessions and 12 panel discussions. One minute silence at beginning of each day would also be observed for victims of terrorism.

A documentary, depicting efforts of people, the government and security agencies of the country against terrorism, was also shown on the occasion.