Britian pledges more aid to Pakistan
Updated
Britain has pledged nine million dollars to fight terrorist groups and provide technical assistance to increase security in Pakistan.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown says seventy-five percent of terrorist plots investigated by British authorities have links to Al Queda in Pakistan. Although the amount of money promised by Mr Brown won't go very far it's a good indication Britain realises the need for a joint effort to tackle terrorism.
Presenter: Stephanie March
Speaker: Bashir Ahmed, senior fellow at Institute of Regional Studies in Islamabad. Nishat Ahmed, retired Lt Gen from Pakistan army.
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MARCH: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's visits to Islamabad and New Delhi came as tension between the two countries continues to mount following the recent terror attacks in Mumbai that left more than 170 people dead. Allegations Indian aircraft violated Pakistani airspace on Saturday have fuelled further speculation of increasing tensions. During his visits Prime Minister Brown pledged support to both countries to tackle the growing problem of terror activity in the region.
BROWN: No country should have to go through what India's had to go through as a result of the Mumbai outrages. I have said to Prime Minister Singh we will give every help that we can. We will work together in tackling terrorism and we will work together on issues of security and we will work together to build international support to tackle terrorism and the roots of terrorism in this world."
MARCH: While Gordon Brown offered words of support to India, his promise to Pakistan focused on more practical assistance. That will include technical support like new bomb-scanning technology, forensic assistance and help improving airport security. He announced a nine million US dollar program to help fight the causes of extremism, strengthen democracy, and educate Pakistani youth against radicalism. Senior research fellow from the Institute for Regional Studies in Islamabad Bashir Ahmed says Briton's offer is not surprising.
BASHIR: We have a large number of Pakistanis living in the UK, so I think in this game we are together.
MARCH: He says the promise of technical assistance is much-needed.
BASHIR: Anti-terrorism is not a one dimensional effort. It doesn't mean application of brut force. It requires very good policing, it requires very good intelligence system. And if anything happens it requires very good system to investigate, so I think this is where we are lacking.
MARCH: Retired Lt General from the Pakistani army and former head of the national defence college Nishat Ahmed agrees the technical support is more important than the money.
NISHAT: I don't think the amount is really material it's a very small amount, but what is important is the technical assistance that they are offering to Pakistan in terms of various capabilities that Pakistani security establishments may not have at the moment.
MARCH: Pakistan has a controversial history with international military assistance. Earlier this year American officials said up to 70 percent of the 5.4 billion US dollars they'd given to strengthen the Pakistani military had been misused, and the program had not provided them with value for money. However Lieutenant General Ahmed says it's important to remember that money was not just a hand out to the Pakistani Army.
NISHAT: The entire logistic support of the NATO forces is flowing through Pakistan and a lot of expenses incurred on that logistic support and part of the money we get is just reimbursement of that money.
MARCH: He also says while assistance from foreign nations is welcome, sometimes it can send the wrong message.
NISHAT: The Pakistan government for the last eight years has tried very hard to convince the people of Pakistan that the fight against terrorism was our own war. And when you keep on hearing from the US that "you need to do more" - what is the impression it creates on the Pakistani society? That no, it is not our war, it is America's war who is insisting that we need to do more. So it eroded the support that the government was seeking from it's own people to fight the war.
MARCH: Despite the negative backlash from American support in the past, he says the latest offer from Briton is still a positive step.
NISHAT: It's showing greater solidarity in terms of jointly combating terrorism and that is something that we all under stand and need to support that it's a worldwide phenomena and the more cooperation countries undertake with each other to fight this the greater chances of success
