Britain must stand by Pakistan despite doubts: Cameron
May 4th, 2011 - 12:42 am ICT by IANS
London, May 3 (IANS) Prime Minister David Cameron Tuesday insisted Britain must stand by Pakistan amid disbelief in many quarters that the authorities in Islamabad were unaware Osama bin Laden had been in their backyard.
The prime minister, in a statement in parliament, said that the fact that the Al Qaeda leader had been living in a large house in a populated area (in Pakistan) suggested he must have had a support network in Pakistan and it was “right” to ask searching questions about this, The Guardian reported.
But he also said that it was in Britain’s national interest to work in continued cooperation with Pakistan’s democratic forces in the “same struggle” against terrorism.
“Bin Laden was an enemy of Pakistan. He had declared war against the Pakistani people. And he had ordered attacks against them,” he said.
To support his views, Cameron quoted US President Barack Obama, who said in a statement that “counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding”.
Cameron said continued co-operation would be “just as important in the days ahead” and that, by working with democrats in Pakistan, “we can make sure the whole country shares the same determination to fight terror”.
He added: “I believe it is in Britain’s national interest to recognise that we share the same struggle against terrorism. That’s why we will continue to work with our Pakistani counterparts on intelligence gathering, tracing plots and taking action to stop them.
“It’s why we will continue to honour our aid promises, including our support for education as a critical way of helping the next generation of Pakistanis to turn their back on extremism and look forward to a brighter and more prosperous future.”
He also warned that Britain needs to be “more vigilant than ever” following the death of Osama amid fears of reprisals from Al Qaeda operatives.
Cameron said the government had also updated its travel advice and ordered embassies across the world to review their security.
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Tags: al qaeda, barack obama, cameron london, counterparts, counterterrorism cooperation, country shares, david cameron, democratic forces, disbelief, doubts, extremism, honour, intelligence gathering, minister david, national interest, operatives, osama bin laden, pakistanis, qaeda leader, reprisals