UK and Pakistan to work together against terrorism

The Prime Minister and the President of Pakistan have committed to work together to address the threat of terrorism.

Gordon Brown spoke with President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday about the need for a joint counter-terrorism effort following the arrests of twelve suspected terrorists in locations across North West England on Wednesday evening. Eleven of those arrested were Pakistani nationals.

Downing Street said that during a phone call on Thursday evening, both leaders agreed that they share a serious threat from terrorism and violent extremism and should work together to tackle it.

Speaking to the media during a visit to Carlisle on Thursday, the Prime Minister said:

“I think one important part of this that has got to be recognised is that increasingly we have seen terrorist links with Pakistan and Britain. I’ll be talking to the Pakistan President, Mr Zardari. We want the closest of cooperation between Britain and Pakistan to deal with countering terrorism and I think one of the lessons we are learning from the events of the past few years is that Pakistan has got to do more to root out the terrorist elements in its country as well.”

Mr Brown praised the police forces involved in Wednesday’s arrests for their part in foiling what he described as a “major terrorist plot”.

He added:

“We had to act preemptively to ensure the safety of the public. The safety of the public is the paramount concern in everything that we do.”