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UK and Pakistan forge terror pact
The UK and Pakistan have agreed to strengthen their ties to fight terrorism following talks between the countries’ two leaders in Lahore.
Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Pervez Musharraf agreed that restoring order in Afghanistan was crucial. Mr Blair praised Pakistan’s co-operation. The president said his country was doing all it could to help. But he added that defeating the Taleban could not be done by force alone and said a “broader strategy” was needed.
He urged a “massive inflow” of development aid to rebuild the south-east of the country – the centre of the Taleban insurgency. He likened the effort needed to the US Marshall Plan to reconstruct Europe after World War II.
Blair pledged a commitment to battling the Taleban, saying: “Nobody should be in any doubt at all about our commitment to Afghanistan.” It was of “fundamental importance” to global security “to stick with it and see the job through,” he said.
Blair’s spokesman later said Britain had always pursued security alongside reconstruction in Afghanistan, and the problem was not funds but getting security and infrastructures in place. Pakistan’s co-operation in cracking down on cross-border infiltration by Taleban militants is seen as critically important for the success of US and Nato military operations in Afghanistan.
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