By NNN-PTI
London : British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said 70 per cent of all terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom have their origins in militant-infested Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
“Seventy per cent of terrorists incidents in Britain have their origin in Pakistan-Afghanistan border”, Miliband said justifying the presence of British troops in Afghanistan on Monday.
The foreign secretary said helping the Afghan government to tackle al-Qaeda terrorists’ use of the 4,000-km border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, was “absolutely central to our security. Their ability to use this border has had devastating consequences in the UK”.
Asking the western NATO allies to do more, Miliband told the BBC radio that it was imperative to promote both security and development in Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world, for the sake of Britain’s own security.
“Afghanistan will become a failed state if the international community pulled out,” he said. Its ability to tackle terrorists would “come back” to Britain.
However, he said Afghanistan was not a failed state as of now.
“I don’t believe it is a failed state. There are five million kids in school, five million refugees have come back to the country, two-thirds of the country now gets health-care. Those are all important aspects of progress”, he added.