London, Dec 3 (DPA) Britain and Pakistan were embroiled in a public row Thursday over accusations that the government in Islamabad was not doing enough to “take out” Al Qaeda leaders believed by some to be hiding in Pakistan.
During a visit to London, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani used a joint news conference with Britain’s Gordon Brown to reject allegations that his government was not doing enough to combat terrorism.

Gilani said that the leader of the terror network, Osama bin Laden, was “not in Pakistan” and insisted that his government’s security forces had been “extremely successful” in tackling terrorism within its borders.

Brown, while attending a Commonwealth summit in Trinidad and Tobago last weekend, called on Pakistan to do more to find and “take out” bin Laden and his deputy Ayman Zawahiri.

The accusation clearly angered the Pakistani authorities and prompted strong criticism from government ministers and Pakistan’s ambassador in London earlier this week.

Gilani, who came to Britain after a four-day visit to Germany, also stressed that he did not believe that Pakistan was to blame for the failure to apprehend bin Laden eight years after the terrorist attacks on the US in 2001.

“Pakistan is fighting the war on terrorism and we have a good intelligence and defence cooperation with the United States,” said Gilani.

When asked about Brown’s previous remarks, he suggested that his security forces had not had “actionable information” on bin Laden.

“I doubt the information which you are giving is correct because I don’t think Osama bin Laden is in Pakistan,” Gilani told journalists.

Brown, who did not repeat his call for tougher action, struck a markedly more conciliatory note, pledging to step up cooperation in the joint fight against terrorism and intelligence-sharing.

Brown made a point of praising Pakistan’s efforts to counter the influence of the Taliban in both Pakistan and Afghanistan and paid tribute to the “huge sacrifices” made by Islamabad in fighting extremism.

“I offer you, Prime Minister Gilani, our condolences and our solidarity. I salute the immense bravery of the Pakistan Army, 30,000 of whom are taking the fight to the insurgency … this is a serious commitment being made by the people of Pakistan with the support of all parties,” he said.

Gilani, meanwhile, also hit back at repeated claims by Brown that three-quarters of terror plots directed against Britain originated in Pakistan.

It is an argument which Brown has consistently used to bolster flagging support in Britain for the war in Afghanistan, where 99 British soldiers have died so far this year alone.

“I don’t agree with this information because we are fighting this war on terrorism,” Gilani said.