Barton wants Pakistan and India to improve ties

British high commissioner gives lecture on relations with Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The United Kingdom has been taking initiatives for many years to address radicalisation in the country, including non-violent extremist ideologies. More measures may follow in light of the Paris attacks.

This was British High Commissioner Philip Barton’s response to a question at a public talk on Tuesday at the Institute for Strategic Studies.



Barton was the key speaker at the institute’s Ambassadors Platform event and gave a broad overview of Pakistan and the UK’s relationship, while also answering questions from the audience.

Barton, who has been the high commissioner in Islamabad since January 2014, started by making a personal reference to the close relationship between the people of the UK and Pakistan, explaining that his grandfather served in the Punjab Regiment in united India, while the incumbent British defence attaché’s grandfather not only served in the Punjab Regiment, but was also a senior officer in the Pakistan Army after partition.

He said the UK government would propose a national security strategy next week, while noting that Pakistan is among the largest recipients of UK development aid.



More of interest to the largely Pakistani audience, he said economic, regional, development and security issues matter to UK, while noting that preferential access has led to a $1 billion increase in trade for Pakistan.

On the regional front, he said, “We want [Pakistan to have] better relations with all of [its] neighbours”. He also expressed “cautious optimism” that despite the regional issues, “people are still talking to each other”.

He noted that among many of the UK’s assistance efforts for Pakistan, four million girls benefit from primary school programmes.



He said, “The UK and Pakistan’s relationship stands on very strong foundations. Over 1.1 million UK nationals claim heritage from Pakistan, while…some 7,000 Pakistani students have studied in the UK in each of the last few years.”

“Bilateral relations are in excellent shape across the board and the top of the two governments know each other well. The economic prosperity side of bilateral relations has been my personal priority and bilateral trade in 2014 increased by 15 per cent compared to the previous year.”

He also referenced past British concerns over Pakistani tax collection and its economy, saying the UK wants to see economic reforms.



On the security front, he said, “Given the links between our countries, there is a very direct link between our security.”

He said the UK is supporting Pakistan in tackling terrorism by training police and bomb squads.

During the question-and-answer session, He responded to a question on the “Pakistani pace” at which the Scotland Yard investigation into Altaf Hussain is proceeding by underscoring that the British police and prosecutors act independently of the government, so he is not in a position to say why it is progressing at the pace it is. He also noted the UK is increasing resources for counterterrorism, and that at least seven plots have been dealt with over the last year. To a question on the impact of the Paris attack on immigration for Muslims, he said Europe’s immigration policies are not religion-based.

On the Kashmir issue, he said, “It is for India and Pakistan to resolve differences over Kashmir in line with the will of the people.” He also reiterated the UK’s support for granting India a permanent spot on the UN Security Council, much to the audience’s chagrin.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2015.