Brown calls on Pakistan to act against al Qaida
Gordon Brown sent a tough challenge to Pakistan today to step up action against the al Qaida terror network and “take out” its leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri.
In television interviews today, the British Prime Minister made little attempt to hide his frustration at Pakistan’s failure, eight years after the September 11 attacks in the USA, to track down the men responsible, who are believed to be hiding out in the north of the country.
He called on Pakistan’s army and security services, as well as the country’s political leaders, to take al Qaida on directly in the tribal areas of South Waziristan near the Afghan border and not only isolate but “break” the terror network.
Some 30,000 Pakistani troops have been sent to South Waziristan as part of a drive to take on the Taliban in Pakistan, but Mr Brown made clear he wants them also to target the leadership of al Qaida, who have evaded international forces since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
Mr Brown told the BBC: “The Pakistan Government has started to take on the Taliban and to take on al Qaida in South Waziristan, but we have got to ask ourselves why, eight years after September 11, nobody has been able to spot or detain or get close to Osama bin Laden, nobody has been able to get close to Zawahiri, the number two of al Qaida.
“We have got to ask the Pakistani security forces, army and politicians to join us in the major effort that the world is committing resources to, not only to isolate al Qaida but to break them in Pakistan.
“I will be talking, as I have over the last few days, to all the senior leaders in Pakistan and saying if we are putting our strategy into place for dealing with building up Afghan forces in Afghanistan so they can control things themselves, then Pakistan has got to be able to show that it can take on al Qaida, which is a threat to Pakistan and the Pakistani people as well as to the rest of the world.
“We have got to focus the attention of the world on the continuing threat from al Qaida. As I have said, three-quarters of terrorist plots that threaten Britain arise from that area of Pakistan.
“I believe that after eight years, we should have been able to do more, with all the Pakistani forces working together with the rest of the world, to get to the bottom of where al Qaida is operating from.
“I want to make sure that the Pakistani army and Pakistani security services, as well as the Pakistani politicians, will make sure that in South Waziristan we are taking on al Qaida directly.”
Mr Brown added: “Progress has been made. Thirty thousand Pakistani troops are on the borders of South Waziristan, but we want, after eight years, to see more progress in taking out these two people at the top of al Qaida, who have done so much damage and are clearly the brains behind many of the operations aimed at Britain.”
