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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday described militant violence as an international challenge, calling for global solidarity to combat the threat during a meeting with US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker.
Baker assumed the role at the US Embassy in Islamabad in January, following the departure of Ambassador Donald Blome. The position is a temporary appointment, with her responsibilities including engagement with Pakistani officials on bilateral issues until a new envoy is confirmed.
“Terrorism is an international issue, and the global community must work together to address it,” Naqvi said during the meeting.
He also recalled his recent official visit to the United States, which took place earlier this month. The trip focused on bilateral cooperation, counterterrorism strategies and security concerns.
“The meetings with US Congress members were extremely positive,” the minister said. “Discussions focused on developing a joint strategy to combat terrorism and further strengthening bilateral relations.”
Pakistan and the US have historically cooperated on counterterrorism efforts, with both sides benefiting from intelligence-sharing support.
More recently, the US has repeatedly expressed support for Pakistan’s security concerns, particularly as Islamabad blames rising militant violence on cross-border attacks from Afghanistan — an allegation denied by authorities in Kabul.
Naqvi expressed optimism that Pakistan-US relations would strengthen under President Donald Trump’s administration.
He also invited Baker to attend Islamabad’s upcoming spring festival celebrations.

CONGO: Chaotic scenes unfolded in the eastern Congo city of Bukavu on Saturday after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels reached its outskirts, while a threat by Uganda’s army chief to attack a Congolese town raised fears of the conflict flaring into a wider regional war.
The rebels have been pushing south toward Bukavu, the second-largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, since they seized Goma, the largest city, at the end of last month.
On Saturday, the World Food Programme’s depot in Bukavu, which housed 6,800 metric tons of food, was being looted, a spokesperson told Reuters.
The stolen supplies would deepen the difficulties faced by those in need, Claude Kalinga said, with the agency’s activities already suspended for weeks due to the deteriorating security situation.
Sporadic gunfire was heard overnight and into Saturday morning, according to multiple Bukavu residents, who said the shots were fired by looters.
Corneille Nangaa, leader of a rebel alliance that includes the M23, said on Friday evening that the rebels had entered Bukavu and would continue their operation in the city on Saturday.
Two residents of the northern Bukavu suburb of Bagira said they had seen rebels on the streets and no sign of fighting.
An M23 source, two Congolese army officers and multiple Bukavu residents, however, said on Saturday that the rebels had not yet entered the city center.
One of the army officers said soldiers were being evacuated in order to avoid “carnage” like in Goma. About 3,000 people were killed in the days preceding the capture of that city, according to the United Nations.
Congolese soldiers could be seen on the streets of Bukavu on Saturday, according to eyewitnesses. The soldiers set fire to a weapons depot at their army base there, according to five residents and a military source.
The capture of Bukavu, a city of about 2 million according to the mayor, would represent an unprecedented expansion of territory under the M23’s control since the latest insurgency started in 2022, and deal a further blow to Kinshasa’s authority in Congo’s eastern borderlands, which are rich in minerals.
On Saturday, the chief of Uganda’s defense forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, said in a post on X that he would attack the town of Bunia in neighboring eastern Congo unless “all forces” there surrendered their arms within 24 hours.
The threat by Kainerugaba, whose father is President Yoweri Museveni, adds to fears that Africa’s Great Lakes region risks slipping back into a broader war reminiscent of conflicts in the 1990s and 2000s that killed millions.
Uganda’s military has since 2021 supported the Congolese army in its fight against Islamist militants in the east, and deployed another 1,000 soldiers there in late January and early February.
But UN experts say Uganda has also backed the ethnic Tutsi-led M23.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged dialogue between the warring parties in a speech at an African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa on Saturday.
Leaders from Eastern and Southern African regional blocs last weekend also urged all parties to hold direct talks, but Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has repeatedly refused to talk directly to the M23 and canceled his appearance at the AU summit, sending his prime minister to represent Congo.
Tshisekedi returned to Kinshasa on Saturday morning, according to the presidency, after attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday.
Kigali has denied backing M23, and President Paul Kagame said on Facebook on Saturday that he had told the AU peace and Security Council that “Rwanda has nothing to do with Congo’s problems.”
The United States has warned of possible sanctions against Rwandan and Congolese officials. The European Union said on Saturday it is considering using all the means at its disposal to protect Congo.