Repeatedly brushing aside questions relating to his controversial “Pakistan-is-exporting-terror” statement in India last year, British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday said London wanted a strong relationship with both New Delhi and Islamabad.
On his maiden visit to Pakistan as Premier, Mr. Cameron came with the hope of making a new start after his controversial statements in India introduced a discordant note in bilateral ties. So, “let's clear up the misunderstandings of the past, work through the tensions of the present and look together to the opportunities of the future,'' was his refrain during the day-long visit.
Describing the practice of playing one country against another as a Cold War hang-up, Mr. Cameron said both India and Pakistan are very important to the United Kingdom.
“We don't have to choose between a strong relationship with either Pakistan or India — we want a strong relationship with both.''
Referring to last week's Indo-Pak Premier-level engagement at Mohali, he remarked that the sight of the two Prime Ministers sitting together at the cricket world cup, and the spirit in which the game was played and watched by fans of both countries “is a tremendous sign of hope for the future''. Stating that the time is ripe for the two countries to look “even further beyond what divides you'' and embrace what unites, he asserted that the “opportunities for mutual progress are simply enormous''.
As the British Premier side-stepped repeated questions about his controversial remarks in India regarding Pakistan's stance on terrorism, his Pakistani counterpart Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani reciprocated by ignoring similar queries at the joint press conference they addressed after signing the U.K.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue.
Mr. Cameron also announced an agreement to increase bilateral trade with Pakistan to £2.5 billion annually by 2015 and promised to continue pushing for greater trade access to Pakistan in the European Union.
Announcing a £650-million assistance to get over four million Pakistani children into school — billed as the largest overseas education programme ever funded by the U.K. — he asked Pakistan's elite to pay more taxes and called for cuts on government expenditure to be able to convince people back home to support this largesse.
Mr. Cameron also used an interaction with students to explain Britain's pro-active role in the air operations in Libya; maintaining that this was not a war against Islam as is being made out but an attempt to stop the slaughter of people - predominantly Muslim.
Afghanistan also came up for discussion in the meetings and summing up the British position on the Afghan issue, he said: ``As the Afghan government takes steps towards a political settlement in their country, I want to work with them, with you and with others in the region to ensure that the outcome is also stabilising for Pakistan.''
