Blair in Pakistan: counter-terrorism, Afghanistan on agenda
By Andrew Fernandez,WNS Pakistan Correspondent
ISLAMABAD - British Prime Minister Tony Blair holds talks with President Pervez Musharraf, with the focus on bolstering counter-terrorism amid concerns about Pakistan's role in fuelling extremism. Blair's third trip to the West's key ally in the "war on terror" since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States will see him announce more funding for the fight against radicalism in Pakistan. His office said the 480 million pounds (447 million dollars) being made available over the next three years would take co-operation on security and counter-terrorism to a "new level." The bulk of the cash will go towards supporting Musharraf's efforts to push "enlightened moderation," particularly in education, where some madrassas or Islamic schools have been targeted for allegedly radicalizing Muslim youth.
Britain has been on a drive to curb an apparent rise in Islamic radicalism among young men in its 1.6-million-strong Muslim population, particularly after last year's attacks on London's public transport system that killed 56. Three of the four suicide bombers were Britons of Pakistani origin while two of those three visited Pakistan in the year before the atrocities, allegedly for training and instruction from Al-Qaeda at extremist madrassas and camps. But the British intelligence service and police have in recent months expressed concerns about Pakistan's role in radicalising Muslim Britons travelling to the land of their fathers and grandfathers.
A number of people, were detained in the south Asian Islamic republic in August this year as part of an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic passenger jets from Britain with liquid explosives. Blair will also meet Islamic scholars and visit a mosque Sunday as well as hold talks with his Pakistan counterpart Shaukat Aziz. The talks with Musharraf will also touch on the situation in Afghanistan, where about 4,500 British soldiers are currently engaged in fighting Taliban militants in the volatile south as part of a UN-sanctioned, NATO-led mission.
posted by wnsworld @ 11:42 AM
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