Media Note Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC May 8, 2002
U.S.-Pakistan Joint Working Group on Counterterrorism and Law EnforcementOn May 8, 2002, Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Rand Beers, Coordinator for Counterterrorism Ambassador Francis Taylor, Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs Christina Rocca, and U.S. Department of Justice Deputy Assistant Attorney General Bruce Swartz hosted the first meeting of the U.S.-Pakistan Joint Working Group on Counterterrorism and Law Enforcement. Pakistan’s Minister of Interior, Mr. Moinuddin Haider, led the Pakistani delegation. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage delivered opening remarks. Minister Haider is also meeting with National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Attorney General John Ashcroft, Director of the FBI Robert Mueller, and other officials in the Department of State.
The two governments discussed a broad range of bilateral law enforcement issues, including counternarcotics, counterterrorism, extradition, money laundering, trafficking in persons, demand reduction and drug abuse control, alternative development and poppy eradication, police and legal system reform, and issues related to the repatriation of Pakistani nationals detained in the United States in connection with immigration proceedings. The two governments agreed to strengthen their cooperation in these areas, and to hold another Joint Working Group meeting in approximately six months, with specific follow-up meetings in the interim.
The Joint Working Group was announced during Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s official visit to Washington in February 2002. Among the United States agencies participating were the Department of State, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. In addition to Minister of Interior Haider, representatives of Pakistan’s Federal Investigative Agency, National Crisis Management Center and Anti-Narcotics Force participated.
Released on May 8, 2002
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