Britain & Pakistan Unite to Fight Terrorism

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf have agreed to strengthen their links in efforts to combat worldwide terrorism, following talks this weekend in Lahore.

|PIC1|Blair flew to Islamabad at the weekend for discussions with his counterpart in Lahore. At the meeting he praised the "tremendous co-operation" demonstrated by Pakistan in tackling the terror threat. In particular he thanked Pakistan for their efforts to fight the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan.

At a press conference following the talks, Blair stressed that "nobody should be in any doubt" about the UK's commitment to Afghanistan, claiming that it was of "fundamental importance" to global security to tackle the resurgence of the Taliban and "to stick with it and see the job through".

However, General Musharraf went on to warn that victory against the Taliban in Afghanistan would not be achieved through military means alone.

"We need to put our house in order here on our side and make sure that this support is cut off," the Pakistani president stated.

He added that a massive reconstruction programme was needed in eastern Afghanistan in order to defeat Taliban insurgency there.

Blair described the talks as "immensely constructive" and praised the Pakistani president for his "courage and his leadership" in taking his country through a "journey of change and modernisation".

The British premier also announced a doubling of UK development aid to Pakistan. Approximately £480 million will be made available to Pakistan over the next three years, with part of the money being used to support General Musharraf's education reforms - designed to counter the influence of Islamic religious schools, which many commentators state are serving as a breeding ground for militants.

A further £8 million will be provided by the British government as part of a counter-terrorism package, which will support Pakistan in efforts to track down finance used to support terrorism and to launch preventative measures.

Blair described relations between the country and Britain as being at "their highest point for many years".

He concluded, "I think that we are seeing a strengthening of the relationship at every level, which I welcome enormously."