British premier sparks 'terror' row with Pak

Agence France Presse

NEW DELHI: British Prime Minister David Cameron was mired in a diplomatic row with Islamabad today over comments made on a trade-driven trip to India about the “export of terror” from Pakistan.

Pakistan’s ambassador to Britain accused Cameron of “damaging the prospects of regional peace” while the foreign ministry in Islamabad reminded him of the nation’s commitment and sacrifices in the fight against terror. Cameron’s trip to India was meant to showcase his new foreign policy based on commercial interests, but the minefield of India-Pakistan relations and regional security risked overshadowing his pitch for investment and open trade.

Asked about unrest in South Asia on Wednesday, Cameron responded that Pakistan could not be permitted to “look both ways” in promoting the export of terror while publicly working for stability in the region.

Today he sought to clarify his remarks, which were seized on by the Indian media as endorsing New Delhi’s view that Pakistan’s intelligence agency covertly funds insurgents in India and Afghanistan.

“I don’t think the British taxpayer wants me to go around the world saying what people want to hear,” Cameron told reporters travelling with him. “I don’t think it’s overshadowed anything. I think it’s important to speak frankly and clearly about these issues.”

Pakistan has been under pressure since earlier this week when leaked secret US military documents detailed alleged links between Pakistan’s ISI intelligence services and Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

In London, Pakistani High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan voiced his government’s deep disappointment over Cameron’s comments, saying he had chosen to ignore Pakistan’s “enormous role” in the war on terror.

“He seems to be more reliant on information based on intelligence leaks, despite it lacking credibility or corroborating proof,” said Hasan, writing to The Guardian newspaper.

“A bilateral visit aimed at attracting business could have been conducted without damaging the prospects of regional peace,” he added.

In Islamabad, foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said: “Terrorists have no religion, no humanity, no specific ethnicity or geography. Terrorists’ networks, as the UK knows full well, mutate and operate in different regions and cities.”