www.spearheadresearch.org

[Ahsan Waheed]

British HC summoned, will demand explanation: Qureshi

Thursday, 29 Jul, 2010

LAHORE: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the statements made by British Prime Minister David Cameron about Pakistan are surprising. He said that an official reponse will be sought from the British High Commission about the statement made.

Speaking to the media at Lahore airport, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the defence agreement made between the United Kingdom and India will not have an effect on Pakistan. He said that Pakistan will take care of its defence interests by itself.

"We have took move forward in a realistic and practical manner," he said.

On a question about the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan in 2014, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that it would all depend upon the capacity of the Afghan government to manage the situation by themselves. About the issue of the Wikileak intelligence reports, he said that the information about Pakistan in it is nothing new. He said that the issued to be looked into is whether the source of information is itself credible.

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[Fatima Rizvi]

Pakistan 'saddened' by PM Cameron's remarks

Thursday, 29 Jul, 2010

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday it was “saddened” by remarks by British Prime Minister David Cameron that it was exporting terror, adding these did not reflect ground realities.

Pakistan is a key ally of the United States whose help is crucial for US efforts to stabilise neighbouring Afghanistan. Cameron's remarks, made on Wednesday during a visit to Pakistan's arch-rival India, came days before an expected visit by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to Britain.

The Pakistani foreign ministry said Zardari would visit Britain despite Cameron's remarks.

“Obviously, we are saddened by Prime Minister Cameron's remarks in Bangalore to an Indian audience. These remarks are contrary to the facts on the ground,” Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told a news briefing.

Basit said Cameron's remarks were prompted by classified US military reports published by the whistle-blowing WikiLeaks Website. Some of of the classified reports appear to reveal that Pakistan secretly aided Taliban militants while taking billions of dollars in US aid.

“You can never draw the right conclusions from misguided reports,” Basit said. “We should not be creating unnecessary hype around these reports and get distracted.”

The 77,000 classified documents tangentially deal with Pakistan and the alleged involvement of its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency in the Afghan insurgency. Washington has condemned the disclosures and said it could threaten U.S. national security.

Basit said the international community had acknowledged Pakistan's efforts in the fight against militants linked to al Qaeda and Taliban and it would remain unaffected by such accusations.

“This malicious campaign that has been going on now for years against Pakistan and against our security agencies - particularly ISI - cannot belittle our achievements and cannot blight our record against militants and violent extremists.”

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[raven.gale]

Pakistan Furious About Cameron's Terrorism Allegations


British Prime Minister David Cameron made the comments on a trip to India

A diplomatic row has broken out between the United Kingdom and Pakistan after U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron accused elements of Pakistan's security and intelligence services of promoting the export of terrorism.

Pakistani officials are reportedly furious about Cameron's remarks and say they have damaged the prospects for regional peace.

Speaking in Bangalore on July 28, Cameron opened a diplomatic rift between Islamabad and London when he suggested that Pakistan is "looking both ways" on exporting terrorism while demanding respect as a democracy.

"We want to see a strong and a stable and democratic Pakistan. But we cannot tolerate in any sense the idea that this country is allowed to look both ways and is able, in any way, to promote the export of terror, whether to India or whether to Afghanistan or anywhere else in the world," Cameron said.

With his visit aimed at improving economic links between India and the United Kingdom, Cameron named several terrorism groups that, according to India, are sponsored by Pakistan -- including the Taliban, the Haqqani network, and Lashkar-e Taiba.

"It is not right, as I said in my speech, to have any relationship with groups that are promoting terror. Democratic states that want to be part of the developed world cannot do that. And the message to Pakistan from the [United States] and from the [United Kingdom] is very clear on that point," Cameron said.

Pakistani officials responded angrily overnight. A commentary written for "The Guardian" newspaper's website by Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan's high commissioner to Britain, accuses Cameron of damaging the prospects for regional peace.

Hasan also criticized Cameron for believing allegations contained in the secret military reports on the Afghanistan war that were released this week by WikiLeaks.org -- the online whistle-blower.

Those include allegations that elements of Pakistan's ISI intelligence service was supporting cross-border attacks in Afghanistan by militants as recently as last year.

Hasan said Cameron seems to be relying more "on information based on intelligence leaks which lack credibility of proof" rather than "Pakistan's enormous role in the war on terror and the sacrifices" it has made since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Cameron on July 29 refused to back down from his comment, telling Britain's Sky TV that he has "perhaps a novel view of saying what you think and being frank and clear about these things." He also repeated that Pakistan needs to work together more with the international community to shut down terrorist groups "which continue to operate both within and outside Pakistan."

...

Pakistan has taken the rare step of issuing an official rebuttal about those reports. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit described the allegations of Afghan informers about Pakistan as "unverifiable," "outdated," and "self-serving."

Pakistani lawmaker Khurshid Ahmad, vice president of the Islamist Jamaat-e Islami party, said 90 percent of the reports alleging Pakistani links with militants were "attributed to Afghan intelligence agencies, whose reports are totally unreliable and fabricated."

Ahmad said it was "unacceptable" for Cameron to make his statements about Pakistan on the basis of such reports.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari is due to visit Britain next week. With plans to stay at Cameron's country retreat of Chequers, political observers expect to hear more about the diplomatic dispute between London and Islamabad in the days ahead.

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