By NNN-APP,
London : Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani rejected the notion that two-thirds of terrorist attacks against Britain stemmed from Pakistan and that the 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden was in Pakistan.
“I don’t agree with this,” Gilani told reporters after a breakfast meeting with British Prime Minister here at the 10 Downing Streeton on Thursday, where they discussed regional and international situation with focus on economic rehabilitation and strategic support to Pakistan in the wake of fight against militancy.
Gilani said with more credible information, good intelligence and defence cooperation, action would be taken against all terrorists. He rejected the claim that Osama bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan.
He said Pakistan has taken over the strongholds of extremists and terrorists in Waziristan and said “most of these [terrorists] are not in Pakistan, they might be in Afghanistan,” he added.
He said the Taliban comprised several nationalities including Uzbeks, Chechens, Afghans and Arabs and said “we are fighting them all and we don’t discriminate between the Taliban and the al-Qaeda.”
Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered Pakistan enhanced security cooperation and lauded Pakistan’s determination to fight against the extremists and terrorists.
“This is your fight, but this is also Britain’s fight. We are all working together with a common goal to fight extremism,” Brown said and added “there is determination on both sides of the border and they can deny al-Qaeda and Taliban any space.”
He was also appreciative of Pakistan’s democratic government for bringing all the political parties together to step up efforts against violent extremists.
“I assure you of full support of the United Kingdom in this regard,” he added.
Without giving any breakdown or nationalities, Gordon Brown hinted at further increase in number of troops in Afghanistan to 300,000 by 2011 and said gradually the balance of the troops will shift in favour of the Afghan security forces to manage their own affairs.
The two leaders during their meeting also deliberated upon the new strategy announced by President Barack Obama that aims at adding another 30,000 troops and elimination of al-Qaeda safe havens in Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan.
The United Kingdom has also announced to send additional 500 troops to Afghanistan, raising the number of British troops there to 9,500.
Prime Minister Gilani when asked about Pakistan’s position on the new US policy said the country was carefully studying it.
“We will look into it and need more clarity on it,” Gilani said and added that the US Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Admiral Mike Mullen and Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal will be visiting Pakistan soon to discuss the new US strategy with their Pakistani counterparts,” he said.
An earlier statement by the Foreign Office in Islamabad said the new US strategy should not have any negative implications for Pakistan and stressed greater coordination between the military authorities of US and Pakistan to effectively tackle the menace of militancy and extremism.
Prime Minister Gilani apprised his British counterpart about the gains made by Pakistan against militancy, including the successful law enforcement operation in Malakand and said similar success was being achieved in Waziristan.
Gilani attributed the success to the national consensus against extremism forged by the democratic government and across the board resolve of the nation to eliminate terrorism.
Prime Minister Brown acknowledged the “huge sacrifices” made by the people of Pakistan and its civil and military forces to fight extremism and terrorism.
When asked that despite all these sacrifices he still wants Pakistan to do more, Brown said, “we can all step up our efforts against extremism and terrorism.”
Announcing another 50 million pound sterling support for Pakistan for rehabilitation and development projects in Swat, Malakand and other areas cleared from extremists, Brown said the most important thing is “the need to work together and to step up efforts.”
The two leaders also deliberated on the post-election scenario in Afghanistan in the context of governance, security, national integration and regional cooperation.
Regarding the exit strategy, Prime Minister Brown said the efforts are to hand over the control of the security and administrative measures to the Afghans.
Prime Minister Gilani citing Pakistan’s experiences said he believed that military operations need to backed by political and administrative measures.
It is the first visit to the UK by Prime Minister Gilani. President Asif Ali Zardari visited the UK in May, August and September 2009, while Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited Pakistan in April 2009.
During the talks Prime Minister Gilani and his British counterpart also discussed the Pak-UK Strategic Dialogue to assess bilateral relations and to determine shared priorities and objectives.
Under the dialogue process, the foreign ministers of the two countries would meet biannually to review progress and provide direction to their joint work programme. They were of the view that the dialogue was a step towards building a “comprehensive partnership”.
The prime minister urged the UK to play its part for an enhanced relationship between the European Union and Pakistan, including a significantly enhanced trade relationship through greater market access for Pakistan in the EU markets.
Gilani called for upgradation of the relations between the two countries in political, economic, investment, education, science and technology and cultural fields.
He said there was wide scope for cooperation in various fields, including trade, defence, health and education.
The two leaders agreed that terrorism and violent extremism posed a serious threat to both the countries and expressed the determination to defeat that threat.
They agreed on a shared agenda and increased collaboration in tackling violent extremism in both countries and the need for a stable and strong democracy in Pakistan for promoting peace in the region.
The two leaders when they last met in April discussed cooperation in counter terrorism while the British PM also pledged 10 million pounds to fight extremism in the country.
They also called for enhancing the trade volume between the two countries that amounted to over one billion pounds last year.
Gilani expressed satisfaction over the ongoing strategic dialogue and high-level contacts between the two countries. He also thanked Prime Minister Gordon Brown for co-chairing the FoDP Summit in New York.
He hoped that the commitment of 665 million pounds of development aid by the British Prime Minister to Pakistan over the next four years will help bring sustainable development and poverty reduction.
Under the package, the UK will provide nearly 200 million pounds specifically to support education, over 130 million pounds to help improve healthcare, and 120 million pounds of support direct to Pakistan’s budget, which will support macroeconomic stability, the implementation of the IMF programme and social protection for the poor.