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Brown pledges more support for Pakistan's counter terror efforts

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Dec 3, IRNA -- Prime Minister Gordon Brown Thursday pledged more support for Pakistan’s counter terrorism efforts after holding talks with Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani.

"This is your fight but it is also Britain's fight," Brown told Gilani at a joint press conference in London, in reference to the UK’s one million Pakistani population.

But the Pakistani prime minister played down claims that two-thirds of terrorist threats was emerging from Pakistan, saying that many nationalities were fighting in Afghanistan including Uzbeks, Arabs and Chechens.

Brown said that it was not about numbers but the percentage of plots facing Britain since 2001. At the weekend, he also called on Pakistan to do more to track down Osama Bin Laden.

"I don't think Osama Bin Laden is in Pakistan," Gilani said. His country had “good intelligence and defence cooperation with the United States” but no usable information had been provided, he said.

The Pakistan premier also reserved judgement on President Barack Obama's new Afghanistan war strategy, saying he wanted “more clarity” before his country could take action on it.

Brown began the press conference by praising Pakistan's efforts to counter the Taliban and acknowledged the "huge sacrifices" made by the country in fighting extremism.

"Pakistan has made its decisions to allocate more troops, first into the Swat valley, then into Waziristan. So we are seeing on both sides of the borders a determination to take on terrorism within these borders. I believe that is a welcome sign," he said.