British PM expresses desire to visit Pakistan next year

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar calls on Theresa May at 10 Downing Street, London

ISLAMABAD: British Prime Minister Theresa May has said she is looking forward to visiting Pakistan in the first half of 2017.

She expressed these views in a meeting at 10 Downing Street with Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who is on a three-day official visit to the UK, on Tuesday.

Speaking to the interior minister, PM May conveyed her good wishes to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the people of Pakistan, according to a message received from London.

Nisar congratulated the British premier on the assumption of the office of the prime minister and hoped that relations between the two countries would achieve higher profile during her leadership.



Meanwhile, in a meeting with British NSA Sir Mark Lyall Grant, Nisar emphasised the need for the international community to focus and react to the Indian intransigence in the region. India's hegemonic stance and its aggressive posturing was a threat to peace and stability in the region, he said.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan shakes hands with British National Security Adviser Sir Mark Lyall Grant during his visit to London on Tuesday, November 15, 2016. PHOTO: PID

The minister said terrorism was a threat to regional peace, adding that the people of Pakistan and its national security institutions were determined to completely wipe out terrorism from its soil. Nisar also shared gains made through military Operation Zarb-e-Azb, and achievements made under the National Action Plan.

The British NSA appreciated sacrifices of the people of Pakistan, “who have lost their lives in the war against terrorism”.