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| Al Qaeda presence in Pak 'great concern' | | |
BL KAK
NEW DELHI, May 14
Pakistan continues to be used by Al Qaeda terrorists who pose a threat to security in Britain, according to a senior British diplomat. The British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Robert Brinkley, has said that the terrorist organisation's presence in Pakistan's mountainous tribal areas was of "great concern".
"We do have concerns that some Al Qaeda leaders are still able to hide in and operate from areas along the border", he was quoted as saying during an interview broadcast by a Pakistani television channel. He added that extremists in Britain were in contact with terrorists based along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan "from where they get guidance ideas and in some cases training for operations".
Pakistan's intelligence services have cooperated with their British counterparts with greater intensity since the 7/7 attacks on London. However, Pakistan's President, Gen Pervez Musharraf, has said in the past the root of terrorism in Britain is not Pakistan but in Britain itself.
Brinkley said that Britain had a better understanding of how extremists in the country sought training and guidance in Pakistan since the London bombings. It is believed that two of the London bombers underwent terrorist training in Pakistan.
London's Daily Telegraph reported that during the trial of the so-called Crawley bombers, whose network was uncovered by Operation Crevice and whose members were handed jail sentences earlier this month, it emerged that several members of the group had visited Pakistan for training. "This is of huge concern to us", said the High Commissioner. "Our top priority is to ensure that it does not happen again".
Pakistan has deployed tens of thousands of troops along the border and has lost some 700 soldiers who were killed during operations to clear Al Qaeda and pro-Taliban forces from the areas. Brinkley praised Pakistan's efforts but said: "There has been some success but the fight is not over".
Over the past several months Pakistan's relations with the West have grown strained since senior American officials claimed that Al Qaeda was rebuilding along the Afghan-Pakistan border.
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