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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistani PM rejects Brown's criticism |
| 2009-12-04 |
| Pakistani Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani has dismissed his British counterpart's speculations that Islamabad should do more to capture the al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. During an official visit to Downing Street on Thursday, Gilani told British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that while the US had failed, so far, to provide any "actionable" intelligence on bin Laden's hideout, it was doubtful that the fugitive was even in his territory. "I doubt the information which you are giving is correct because I don't think Osama bin Laden is in Pakistan," he told reporters in a joint press conference at No. 10. Brown urged Pakistan over the weekend to step up efforts and hunt down bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri. Eight years after the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, under the stated aim of capturing the al Qaeda head and his high-ranking deputies as well as removing the Taliban regime, Western intelligence officials are now pointing their finger at Pakistan, claiming that both men are hiding in the country's tribal northern areas. "People are going to ask why, eight years after 2001, Osama bin Laden has never been near to being caught... and what can the Pakistani authorities do that is far more effective," Brown told Sky news on Sunday. However, Brown also commended Gilani on Thursday for his leadership, adding that Pakistan had made "huge sacrifices" in its battle against terrorism. He went on to announce a new anti-terror funding, worth £50 million ($83 million), to help Pakistan pacify its border regions with Afghanistan. While Terror attacks have left some 2,000 people dead since 2008, the inaccurate and arbitrary US drone attacks on Pakistani soil have also left hundreds of civilian deaths. The meeting comes days after President Obama announced plans to deploy an extra 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, with the UK committing 500 more soldiers with the condition that other allies join in the dramatic escalation of the battle against the Taliban militants. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 And jeopardize the billions in infidel aid? I think not. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-12-04 00:42 |