Sun, Apr 26, 2009 page4

• UK arrests spark anger in Pakistan

  ‘HEARTBURN’ Pakistan’s high commissioner to London said the UK was sullying his country’s name in the wake of the arrests of 12 suspected terrorists

  • THE GUARDIAN
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  Britain was on Friday plunged into a new diplomatic row with Pakistan over the arrests of 12 people accused of plotting bombing attacks on northern England.

  All were in the past week released without charge, but a top Pakistani diplomat in London has said that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s statements after the arrests a fortnight ago were shocking and had helped extremists.

  In an interview, Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s deputy high commissioner to London, said Britain appeared vindictive against Pakistani nationals and said claims that Islamabad was soft on terror were slurs.

  Brown’s statements were taken by Pakistan as a public accusation that it was not doing enough to help the UK’s fight against terrorism. Ten of those accused were Pakistani nationals who entered Britain on student visas, one is believed to be Afghani, and another is a British national granted sanctuary in the UK after claiming persecution by the Taliban.

  “Pointing a finger towards Pakistan was shocking for us,” said Durrani, a diplomat for 23 years with previous postings in Kabul and the UN. “It was uncalled for and shocking.”

  His comments come amid international fear over the grip the Taliban is taking on parts of Pakistan. This week their forces were reported to be occupying areas less than 100km from Islamabad.

  Tension between Islamabad and London over terrorism has been rising for months. In December Brown said during a visit to the country that 75 percent of the plots Britain faced were linked to Pakistan.

  The day after the arrests on April 8, Brown said a very big plot had been foiled and he directly linked it to Pakistan. His aides gave details of a phone conversation two days later where Brown pressed Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to do more. Durrani said Brown had been proved wrong about the arrests and that the “subsequent lessons we should learn is to wait for the outcome.”

  Asked if Pakistan felt it had been accused of not doing enough to help Britain fight terrorism, Durrani said: “It was implied.”

  He said Pakistan felt its efforts to fight terrorism were unappreciated by Britain and the West: “Pakistan’s name is dragged into the mud on every opportunity ... either we are allies, or we are not.”

  “Back home it was considered to be uncalled for remarks, weakening the [Pakistani] government. It was taken as, despite all our efforts, you just brush them aside with the stroke of a pen,” Durrani said. “No one should expect Pakistanis [to] have good regard for the UK, if these kind of slurs and accusations continue to fly. They will see the UK becoming vindictive against the Pakistani nationals and they are being singled out.”

  The 12 arrested were held for up to 13 days. Britain wants to deport the Pakistani nationals, being held in immigration detention, claiming they are a threat to national security.

  Durrani said British Pakistanis had flooded his high commission with messages saying they were worried: “It has caused heartburn in Pakistan, among the community in the UK, they have been stereotyped ... as terrorists.”

  He also accused Britain of breaking international agreements by refusing Pakistani officials consular access to its nationals.

  “Despite our repeated requests not even their names and details were provided,” he said.

  Durrani said the Foreign Office had said details were being denied for security reasons.

  Pakistan said it did not gain access to the detainees until April 20.
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