Pak made significant sacrifices in battling terrorism, says UK
LONDON: Britain said on Tuesday that it had regularly raised with Pakistan the need to take ‘consistent action’ against the terror groups operating from its soil but added that country had made “significant sacrifices in opposing terrorism”.

UK’s response came in reply to a petition on the British government website that sought London’s strong condemnation of Pakistan for providing safe haven to terrorists. The petition attracted nearly 20,000 signatories.
Obliged to respond to any petition that attracts 10,000 signatories, the Foreign Office posted a response that was received with some disappointment in the Indian community. Some were looking forward to it in the context of Prime Minister Theresa May’s three-day visit to India from November 6.
“The UK and Pakistan have a shared interest in the battle against terrorism. We are committed to working together to combat both the terrorist threat and the extremism that sustains it,” the response said.
“The UK regularly highlights to Pakistan, at the highest level, the importance of taking effective action against all terrorist groups operating in Pakistan, as Pakistan has committed to do. We recognise the significant sacrifices that Pakistan and its people have made in combating terrorism”, it added.
London-based Manoj Ladwa, chair of Indians for Labour and a strategist during PM Narendra Modi’s May 2014 election campaign, told HT: “The UK government’s failure to condemn Pakistan for providing safe havens for terrorists is disappointing… As a long standing strategic ally, the UK government should be standing shoulder to shoulder with India”.
“Instead it appears to be soft-peddling. In doing so, the UK is letting down the victims of terror and also the growing number of people in Pakistan who are fed up of their governments policies of harbouring and sponsoring terror,” he added.
A community leader said after the response, May’s remarks on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism during her India visit will be keenly awaited, particularly since UK hasn’t made a significant comment since former PM David Cameron warned in 2010 that Pakistan “could not look both ways” on the issue of terrorism.