Pakistan's Envoy to UK calls for dealing with sources of Radicalization
'Pakistan Times' UK Bureau

LONDON (UK): Pakistan's envoy to Britain Dr. Maleeha Lodhi has said that the global community must fashion a long term, permanent solution to terrorism by addressing the underlying factors.

She was speaking to the BBC in special programmes to mark the first anniversary of the 7/7 bombings in London.

Dr. Lodhi said Pakistan, which has been a victim of terrorism as well as been on the front lines of fighting terror, believes that terrorism cannot be fought by military means alone.

She said that while law enforcement was one of the most critical tools to fight terrorism, an effective strategy consisted of many other instruments, including the need to engage in the battle of ideas.

Dr. Lodhi said that there was now general agreement that the bombers responsible for 7/7 were a home grown phenomenon.

Nevertheless what the world is confronted with in the form of contemporary terrorism is both local and global in its manifestation and consequences. That is why it was important to have both effective national and global counter terrorism strategies.

She said, in response to a question, that the causes underlying radicalisation that leads to violent acts must be identified and addressed.

In this regard she mentioned political injustice and a sense of grievance being among the driving factors.

When asked how she saw the Muslim community one year after 7/7, the envoy said that even before 7/7, the community saw the need to integrate more with British society and similarly for the wider society to actively encourage this process.

She recalled the outreach efforts made by the British government to engage the Muslim community, saying that such efforts must be sustained and expanded.

She also cited community leaders calling for the implementation of many of the recommendations made by several task forces set up by the government in the wake of 7/7.

She said policies are needed to help address what the Muslim community perceives as its social and economic exclusion here.

The Pakistan's envoy said that mainstreaming organizations remain an important challenge, which Muslim leaders and the government together need to address.

Mainstreaming will enable the community to make its voice heard and listened to where it matters, she remarked.●