ISLAMABAD, Dec14 (AFP): British Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged Sunday to help Pakistan tackle terrorism on its soil after meeting President Asif Ali Zardari to discuss security in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.
Brown said Britain would work with the government in Islamabad to ensure terrorists were denied safe havens in Pakistan, and pledged 6 million pounds (9 million dollars) to help it tackle militancy.
"Through these measures we hope to do more to break the chain of terror that links the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan to the streets of the UK and other countries around the world," Brown said during a press conference with Zardari.
Brown was in Islamabad after visiting India and Afghanistan on a tour of the region to discuss security in the wake of the devastating Mumbai attacks, which New Delhi has blamed on "elements" in Pakistan.
He said Pakistan and Britain must work together to "do everything in our power to cut off terrorism," claiming that three-quarters of the most serious terrorist plots investigated by the British authorities had links to Al-Qaeda in Pakistan.
But he also stressed that Pakistan was itself a victim of terrorism, having suffered 50 suicide attacks this year alone.
"I think it's right that we have to help Pakistan to root out terrorism in its own country... all of us suffer when terrorists are active and are able to impose their will," he said.
At least one British national died in last month's attacks on India's financial centre, and Brown said he had asked Zardari to allow British police to question Pakistani suspects if they wanted to do so.
"I asked (Indian Prime Minister) Manmohan Singh this morning if he would allow the British police, if they chose to so do, to interview the person arrested as one of the suspects... I have similarly asked President Zardari," he said.
"We all have an interest in discovering what lies behind the Mumbai outrages."
Pakistan has arrested a number of suspected militants in the wake of the attacks, including two leaders of the banned group Lashkar-e-Taiba, while the lone surviving gunman, a Pakistani national, is being held in India.
Brown's visit here came hours after Islamabad said India had twice violated Pakistani air space Saturday, drawing a swift denial from New Delhi.
Pakistan said Indian jets had flown over the Pakistani-administered part of Kashmir and the eastern city of Lahore, where the banned militant group India accuses of involvement in the Mumbai attacks is active.
But Zardari sought Sunday to downplay the incident, saying the Indian fighter jets only "slightly entered Pakistani soil."
Meanwhile, Pakistan has said two Indian warplanes violated its airspace Saturday, but that there was no cause for alarm as the incursions had been "inadvertent"..
They flew up to 7.4km into the Lahore and Azad Kashmir sectors, it said. Information Minister Sherry Rehman said Pakistan's air force remained "on alert and ready to face any eventuality, but we do not expect this to escalate".
An Indian Air Force spokesman denied the allegation, saying "there has not been any airspace violation".
Wing Commander Mahesh Upasani told Reuters news agency that the Pakistani accusations were an attempt to divert "the attention of the people towards something which has not happened".
Last week, India's foreign minister denied making a "threatening" phone call that prompted Pakistan to put its forces on alert following the co-ordinated attacks by militants in Mumbai, which left more than 170 people dead.
Pranab Mukherjee said the call was a hoax which Pakistan was using to divert attention from the fact its nationals had been involved in the attacks.
The director of public relations for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) said the Indian aircraft had violated Pakistani airspace on two separate occasions on Saturday.
"Both the Indian aircraft entered into Pakistan's airspace between two to four nautical miles at two different sectors," Air Commodore Humyun Viqar told Associated Press of Pakistan news agency. He said Pakistani jets had responded, forcing the Indian aircraft to turn back.
Pakistan's information minister confirmed the incursion and said officials had "spoken to the Indian air force and they have said it was inadvertent".
Another report adds: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown blamed banned Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba for last month's deadly Mumbai attacks as tension between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan simmered Sunday.
Analysts say retaliatory strikes or other military action by India remain very unlikely, as New Delhi believes they would be counterproductive by strengthening the hands of hawks and extremists in Pakistan.
Pakistan has rounded up some of the 40 people India has demanded should be extradited but says that New Delhi has not provided any evidence of links to the attacks. Lashkar has denied involvement.
Brown criticized the "perverse and unacceptable messages" sent by terrorist groups who exploit people of "good religions and faiths," offering New Delhi help in its fight against militancy.
Meanwhile: British police may wish to question the only surviving gunman from the Mumbai attacks, a British government source said Sunday.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave this message to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in talks in New Delhi Sunday, the source said.
British PM pledges to help Pakistan tackle terrorism
FE Team | Published: December 15, 2008 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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