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U.K. too will feel the heat, warns Karzai

Hasan Suroor

Britain "compromising" with Pakistan on Taliban

LONDON: Afghan President Hamid Karzai wants Britain to put more pressure on Pakistan to stop cross-border activities of Taliban militants.

Mr. Karzai conveyed his concerns to British Prime Minister Tony Blair when he met him at Downing Street on Wednesday amid reports of growing tensions between Kabul and London over what he regards as Britain's softly, softly attitude towards Pakistan on the issue.

On the eve of his visit, Mr. Karzai accused Britain of "compromising'' with Pakistan over the latter's covert support for Taliban because it needs Islamabad's cooperation in tackling Pak-inspired extremist groups in Britain.

"I understand that Britain has a long friendship with Pakistan and that its relationship with Pakistan is different from that of other countries because of its domestic concerns... but that compromise will not bring an end to terrorism in Britain,'' he told The Sunday Times before flying to London to meet Mr. Blair.

At a joint press conference with Mr. Blair after the talks, Mr. Karzai said he hoped Pakistan would "remain as steadfast'' in its claim to fight terrorism as it was in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

Mr. Blair sought to dispel Kabul's misgivings saying: "We want to see improved security on the Afghan-Pakistan border the whole time — that's the purpose of the continuing dialogue we have with Pakistan. And we have a tremendous interest in that too because it's British soldiers who are fighting in the south of Afghanistan, precisely in order to make sure that this terrorism cannot come back.''

Britain has more than 5,000 troops in Afghanistan and is the world's second biggest donor, but the relations between the two countries have soured in recent months with Mr. Karzai's officials accusing Britain of winking at allegedly Islamabad-inspired cross-border Taliban attacks to protect its own interests.

Mr. Karzai, in his Sunday Times interview, described British tactics as counter-productive.

"It's from this part of the world [Pakistan] that [terror] training takes place... So for British security, simply foiling incidents in London is not the only way. The important thing is to find the source of it. Otherwise you'll continue to suffer as you have with London bombs. By ignoring what is happening in Pakistan, you can never defeat terrorism,'' he said.

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