Pakistan Expels British Military Trainers
27 June 2011
Pakistan has expelled a team of British military trainers sent to help with the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida, as the fallout from the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden continues to rock relations between Islamabad and its western allies. The Ministry of Defence confirmed that at least 18 military advisers, deployed as part of a £15m programme to train the paramilitary Frontier Corps, have been withdrawn from Pakistan. Most are already...
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New Study Finds No Link Between Poverty, Support for Militant Groups
20 May 2011
Spending millions of pounds on development in Pakistan will do nothing to keep young men out of the clutches of the Taliban, according to an extensive survey of Pakistani attitudes towards extremism which will deepen the row over Britain's aid budget. The study, conducted by researchers from prestigious American universities, found no link between poverty and support for militant groups. The findings undermine a central pillar of the Conservative...
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India Reaffirms Belief Mumbai Attackers Are Sheltered in Pakistan
04 May 2011
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s often lonely efforts to improve relations with Pakistan are certain to become more complicated, and more difficult, after the disclosure that Osama bin Laden had been hiding in a military town in the heart of Pakistan. Many Indian officials, who have long accused Pakistan of providing shelter to terrorist groups, felt vindicated by the discovery of Bin Laden in the town of Abbottabad, an hour’s drive north...
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Cameron Calls for "Fresh Start" in UK-Pakistan Relations
05 April 2011
"Prime Minister David Cameron called for a 'fresh start' in relations between Britain and Pakistan after he last year accused elements in the South Asian country of exporting terrorism. Cameron, on his first visit to Pakistan since he took office almost a year ago, told university students in Islamabad today he wants to 'clear up the misunderstandings of the past' and 'mark a new chapter' in ties between the two countries. 'We want a strong relationship...
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Human Rights and Democracy: The 2010 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report
04 April 2011
"The 2010 UN Development Index ranked Pakistan at 125 out of 169 countries, down from 112 in 2008. Global indices relating to gender, children’s rights and corruption showed Pakistan near the bottom. Women and vulnerable groups faced legal discrimination and high levels of abuse and violence. Weaknesses in the rule of law, along with a dysfunctional criminal justice system, restricted access to justice for the vast majority of those who needed...
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Cardinal Attacks UK Govt's Plans to Increase Pakistan Aid
15 March 2011
"A Roman Catholic cardinal has accused the UK government of operating an 'anti-Christian foreign policy'. Cardinal Keith O'Brien has attacked plans to increase aid to Pakistan to more than £445m, without any commitment to religious freedom for Christians. Speaking in Glasgow, Cardinal O'Brien called on Foreign Secretary William Hague to seek human rights guarantees. The Foreign Office said it raised concerns and lobbied governments about persecution...
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Musharraf Casts Doubt on UK's Torture Policy
14 March 2011
"Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has cast doubt on Britain's public stance that countries should not torture British citizens on its behalf. He said he was never told that was the policy and this may have been 'tacit approval of whatever we were doing'. His comments raise questions about how much MI5 knew about torture being used in the fight against al-Qaeda. Former MI5 director general Elizabeth Manningham-Buller denied that 'a blind...
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The Dwindling Kashmir-Britain Militant Network: Analysis
17 February 2011
EXCERPT: "Largely unremarked beyond in South Asia, last weekend marked the twenty-seventh anniversary of the death of Maqbool Butt. One of the first prominent leaders of the Kashmiri liberation struggle, Butt's execution almost three decades ago was expedited as a result of events on the other side of the globe in Birmingham, England when a group of Kashmiris kidnapped and executed an Indian diplomat. A set of connected events that while anomalous...
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London Bombers Received Advice from Pakistan
02 February 2011
, AFP, 2 February 2011
EXCERPT: "The ringleader of the July 7, 2005 suicide bombings on London's transport system received advice from a mystery figure in Pakistan just days before the attacks, the inquest heard on Wednesday. Mobile phone records showed a series of calls made from phone boxes in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi to bomber Mohammed Sidique Khan, a police officer told hearings...
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UK Moves to Ban TTP under Terrorism Act
18 January 2011
Britain Moves to Ban Pakistani Taliban under Terror Law, Reuters, 18 January 2011
EXCERPT: "Britain has moved to ban the Pakistani Taliban as a terrorist group, making it illegal to belong to or raise funds for the organisation in Britain, the government said on Tuesday. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan is the group most influenced by al Qaeda and is the main militant alliance based in northwestern Pakistan, focussing on attacking the Pakistani...
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