Islamabad has rejected British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's request to allow Scotland Yard investigators to question suspects held over November 26 attacks in Mumbai. Premier Brown made the demand to his Pakistani counterpart during a short visit to Islamabad on Sunday.
Sticking to his guns, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani disqualified the request saying Islamabad would follow its own laws.
A UK citizen - Andreas Liveras - was among the 176 people massacred in the terror attack, which New Delhi says were carried out by “elements in Pakistan”.
Informing the parliament of his discussions Gilani said: "I want to assure you that when I met the British prime minister yesterday, he asked if... we would allow them to investigate those people."
Claiming that he turned down the request, he asserted: "It is our country and our laws will be implemented. We'll follow our laws."
Britain and the United States support India in its attempts to urge Islamabad to crack down on militant groups following the Mumbai attacks.
Premier Brown used strong words during his visit to New Delhi and Islamabad to criticize the attacks saying, the "terrible terror outrages" had shocked the whole world and the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayeba (LeT) militant group had "a great deal to answer for".
Though diplomats in UK and US have sided with India in the aftermath of the attacks, the efforts have failed to impress a significant section in the country, which questions the dichotomy ridden western policy on terror.
Groups and citizens in India have raised doubts over the efficacy of policies that validate missile strikes inside Pakistan territory on one hand and continue to ink bilateral agreements on the other. Especially since recent audits, conducted by US based groups, have showed that terror combat funds pumped into Islamabad were not used for the specific purposes.
During his visit to Islamabad, Prime Minister Brown unveiled a USD 8.9 million deal with the country, terming it "the most comprehensive anti-terrorist programme" between the UK and another country.
Prime Minister Brown’s visit came amid escalating tensions between the two countries in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attack, which many term India’s 9-11 and called for a war on terror reminiscent of the action against terror elements following the WTC attack.
Sticking to his guns, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani disqualified the request saying Islamabad would follow its own laws.
A UK citizen - Andreas Liveras - was among the 176 people massacred in the terror attack, which New Delhi says were carried out by “elements in Pakistan”.
Informing the parliament of his discussions Gilani said: "I want to assure you that when I met the British prime minister yesterday, he asked if... we would allow them to investigate those people."
Claiming that he turned down the request, he asserted: "It is our country and our laws will be implemented. We'll follow our laws."
Britain and the United States support India in its attempts to urge Islamabad to crack down on militant groups following the Mumbai attacks.
Premier Brown used strong words during his visit to New Delhi and Islamabad to criticize the attacks saying, the "terrible terror outrages" had shocked the whole world and the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayeba (LeT) militant group had "a great deal to answer for".
Though diplomats in UK and US have sided with India in the aftermath of the attacks, the efforts have failed to impress a significant section in the country, which questions the dichotomy ridden western policy on terror.
Groups and citizens in India have raised doubts over the efficacy of policies that validate missile strikes inside Pakistan territory on one hand and continue to ink bilateral agreements on the other. Especially since recent audits, conducted by US based groups, have showed that terror combat funds pumped into Islamabad were not used for the specific purposes.
During his visit to Islamabad, Prime Minister Brown unveiled a USD 8.9 million deal with the country, terming it "the most comprehensive anti-terrorist programme" between the UK and another country.
Prime Minister Brown’s visit came amid escalating tensions between the two countries in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attack, which many term India’s 9-11 and called for a war on terror reminiscent of the action against terror elements following the WTC attack.
No comments:
Post a Comment