Countries should transcend biases to fight terrorism, because terrorism has no religion and faith, proclaimed Abdul Basit, Pakistan's high commissioner to India, on Wednesday while speaking at an event to mark the first anniversary of the Army Public School attack in Peshawar.
Seven gunmen affiliated to the Tehrik-i-Taliban attacked the Army Public School last year, killing at least 148.
Basit said terrorism was a global phenomenon that could not be defeated through "half-baked strategies," as reported by The Times of India.
He said the international community should understand his country's pain as it hurts when Pakistan is painted by some with closed eyes. "No other country has suffered so much from violent extremism than Pakistan," he added.
"Terrorism is a global, regional, national and local phenomenon; it could not be defeated through incoherent strategies. We must transcend our individual and collective biases to eliminate terrorism and ensure that this menace does not resurface anywhere in the world," Basit said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued condolences regarding the anniversary of the attack on Dec. 15, saying the United States underscores condemnation of that "cowardly act of mass murder."
Kerry said he the opportunity last summer to meet some of the students who survived that tragic day at Army Public School. "They are a testament to the resilience and spirit of the Pakistani nation, and a reminder of how important it is that good and decent people everywhere unite in opposition to terrorism and to the poisonous ideology that fuels it," he said.
"On this solemn anniversary, the United States reaffirms our determination to stand with the Pakistani people, and people everywhere, in countering violent extremism and in building a secure and prosperous future for all our citizens."
