1:54 AM
ISLAMABAD: British Home Secretary Theresa May has contradicted a claim recently made by the London police chief that two suspected killers of MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq had been arrested in Karachi.
“It was a misstatement. Investigations in the case are still under way and no arrest has been made,” she said at a press conference along with her Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik after a formal meeting here on Thursday.
Dr Farooq was stabbed to death outside his residence in London last year and a British paper had quoted the London police commissioner as saying in September this year that two Pakistanis had been arrested in Karachi for their alleged involvement in the murder.
Mr Malik also rejected the claim and said that after checking with all relevant state agencies he found that no such arrest had been made in Pakistan.
The British home secretary said the security of Pakistan and the United Kingdom was closely inter-linked. Pakistan as a frontline state, she said, had rendered enormous sacrifices to make the region more stable and to cleanse the world of terrorism and extremism. “It is important that we together combat the menace of terrorism.”
Ms May said her country wanted a long-term partnership with Pakistan for generations ahead. “We have consistently pledged our public support, regardless of the political backdrop. There is an unbreakable partnership — we now have to build on it.”
She termed the constant and meaningful contact between governments, institutions and civil society organisations of the two countries as bedrock of the partnership.
The British home secretary said her country was giving training support to Pakistan in dealing with improvised explosive devices, besides providing devices for airports to track explosives.
Mr Malik said that being an agro-based economy Pakistan could not ban ammonium nitrate, a fertiliser also used as explosive, but a strict check was being ensured on its transportation and distribution.
He said detonators had been coming to Pakistan from Afghanistan. Pakistan has banned movement of ammonium nitrate within 50km radius of the border.
About his discussions with the British home secretary, he said a mechanism had been agreed to bring back over 6,000 Pakistanis languishing in jails in the UK to complete their remaining sentence in Pakistan.
The two sides agreed to monitor new initiatives through a joint working group under which experts from both countries would discuss issues relating to migration focusing on visa cooperation, illegal migration, human trafficking, border control and migration policy.
Ms May welcomed Pakistan’s zero tolerance approach to illegal migration. She said Pakistan was already doing much to disrupt the work of agents who were abusing the trust of individuals by promising them a new life in the UK that they could not deliver.
Mr Malik said the post-marriage issues of British citizens of Pakistani origin were also discussed. The Federal Investigation Agency will exchange information and take effective action in case of kidnapping of Britons in Pakistan.
The British home secretary later called on President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and discussed with them issues of mutual interest.
Posted in: NATIONAL
