British Prime Minister David Cameron flew into Pakistan for talks yesterday, seeking a “fresh start” in relations with Islamabad, nine months after accusing it of turning a blind eye to terrorism.
In his first trip to the nuclear-armed Muslim country since taking office in May, Cameron hopes to soothe tensions caused by his remarks during a visit to India in July, according to a pre-released extract of his speech.
The British leader touched down at the Pakistan Air Force base of Chaklala in the garrison city of Rawalpindi at about 6:30am ahead of a packed day of talks in Islamabad.
Photo: AFP
“Let’s today make a fresh start in our relationship. It is time for a new step in relations between Britain and Pakistan and between Britons and Pakistanis,” Cameron told an audience of university students. “Let’s make this the start of a new era in the relations between our countries, our governments, our peoples.”
“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,” Cameron said.
During a trade visit to the Indian city of Bangalore in July, Cameron said Pakistan could not be allowed to “look both ways,” promoting the export of terror while publicly working for stability in the region.
British officials said the comments were not directed at the Pakistani government, but Islamabad summoned Britain’s representative for clarification.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari visited London the following month and the two leaders said their relations were “unbreakable” and promised to intensify intelligence sharing between the two countries.
Cameron repeated this yesterday, saying: “The unbreakable partnership must not just be between our two governments. It must be between our peoples, too.”
“We want a strong relationship with a secure, prosperous, open and flourishing Pakistan. We want that relationship for the long term. We want to work to strengthen that relationship, now and in the future,” Cameron said.
Cameron was to meet Zardari during his one-day visit and also hold talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, officials said.
Far from the violence ravaging Haiti, a market on the border with the Dominican Republic has maintained a welcome degree of normal everyday life. At the Dajabon border gate, a wave of Haitians press forward, eager to shop at the twice-weekly market about 200km from Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. They are drawn by the market’s offerings — food, clothing, toys and even used appliances — items not always readily available in Haiti. However, with gang violence bad and growing ever worse in Haiti, the Dominican government has reinforced the usual military presence at the border and placed soldiers on alert. While the market continues to
An image of a dancer balancing on the words “China Before Communism” looms over Parisian commuters catching the morning metro, signaling the annual return of Shen Yun, a controversial spectacle of traditional Chinese dance mixed with vehement criticism of Beijing and conservative rhetoric. The Shen Yun Performing Arts company has slipped the beliefs of a spiritual movement called Falun Gong in between its technicolored visuals and leaping dancers since 2006, with advertising for the show so ubiquitous that it has become an Internet meme. Founded in 1992, Falun Gong claims nearly 100 million followers and has been subject to “persistent persecution” in
ONLINE VITRIOL: While Mo Yan faces a lawsuit, bottled water company Nongfu Spring and Tsinghua University are being attacked amid a rise in nationalist fervor At first glance, a Nobel prize winning author, a bottle of green tea and Beijing’s Tsinghua University have little in common, but in recent weeks they have been dubbed by China’s nationalist netizens as the “three new evils” in the fight to defend the country’s valor in cyberspace. Last month, a patriotic blogger called Wu Wanzheng filed a lawsuit against China’s only Nobel prize-winning author, Mo Yan (莫言), accusing him of discrediting the Communist army and glorifying Japanese soldiers in his fictional works set during the Japanese invasion of China. Wu, who posts online under the pseudonym “Truth-Telling Mao Xinghuo,” is seeking
‘SURPRISES’: The militants claim to have successfully tested a missile capable of reaching Mach 8 and vowed to strike ships heading toward the Cape of Good Hope Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim to have a new, hypersonic missile in their arsenal, Russia’s state media reported on Thursday, potentially raising the stakes in their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways against the backdrop of Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The report by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited an unidentified official, but provided no evidence for the claim. It comes as Moscow maintains an aggressively counter-Western foreign policy amid its grinding war on Ukraine. However, the Houthis have for weeks hinted about “surprises” they plan for the battles at sea to counter the