Premier Cameron, speaking at a news conference in India on Wednesday, accused the ISI of having links with those militant groups which “export terror to other countries” and urged the world not to give the agency a “freehand” to continue this.
ISI Director-General Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha was scheduled to visit the UK early next month but the trip has now been cancelled, a top military official told The Express Tribune requesting anonymity.
The official did not cite any reasons but experts believe Cameron’s statement against the ISI might be behind the cancellation of the trip.
Prime Minister Cameron’s comments came on the heels of leaked documents about the Afghan war, raising questions about the “double game” allegedly played by the ISI. Both the agency and the government rejected these allegations as “skewed.”
“The DG ISI is not going to the UK,” the official confirmed. However, he declined to give details. Neither he spoke about the schedule and agenda of the tour nor did he reveal reasons behind the cancellation.
The decision was taken in an angry response from Islamabad, which said it had done more than other nations in combating the menace of terrorism in the world, the official added.
Lt-Gen Pasha was scheduled to lead a delegation, comprising four top spy chiefs, to the UK for talks with the British anti-terrorism department.
The purpose of this visit was to chalk out a new strategy to fight the ongoing Afghan insurgency in more coordinated manner.
The spokesperson for the British High Commission in Islamabad neither denied nor confirmed the cancellation of Lt-Gen Pasha’s trip. “I will not comment on it because it is a serious issue,” George Sheriff told The Express Tribune.
“It is a confidential matter. I will never give details of the DG ISI’s visit to the UK,” he added.
Pakistan has reacted angrily to Premier Cameron’s statement with Foreign Office Spokesperson Abdul Basit saying that terrorism is a global issue and the world community should instead ask India to “view this issue objectively.”
He said “terrorism is a global issue as well as regional and local” and that Pakistan and Britain have a “robust and comprehensive partnership, including on counter-terrorism.”
Sources said that the ISI chief also expressed annoyance over the statement as Cameron made it in India. Meanwhile, Adviser to President Asif Ali Zardari denied the cancellation of the president’s forthcoming trip to the UK.
“The president is going to the UK. He has got many official meetings scheduled there and is going to address a rally accordingly,” Farahnaz Ispahani told The Express Tribune.
Pakistan’s High Commission in the UK also denied that President Asif Zardari’s visit has been cancelled. According to Syeda Sultana Rizvi, Press Counselor at the Pakistan High Commission, the visit is scheduled for August 3 to August 8. During his visit the president will meet British Prime Minister David Cameroon on August 6 at the prime minister’s residence in Chequers, she added.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2010.
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