Pakistan

Brown pledges millions to fight militancy in Pakistan

Article published on the 2008-12-14 Latest update 2008-12-15 08:36 TU

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani (R) shake hands with Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Islamabad on Sunday
(Photo: Reuters)

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met with leaders of Pakistan and India on Sunday as part of a tour of the region, where he announced a 6.5 million euro fund to help Pakistan to fight militant groups.

In the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, Brown met both President Asif Ali Zardari and the Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Gilani said afterwards that he had told Brown there was not yet any proof that suspected militants arrested after the Mumbai attacks were actually involved.

Brown's visit came just after Pakistan had accused India of violating its airspace on Saturday, which was quickly denied by India.

Correspondent Mariana Baabar in Islamabad said that Pakistan's government would "appreciate cooperating with Great Britain, but then there has to be respect by both countries on how far it can intrude into each other's affairs”.

"So far there's not even an extradition treaty been signed by both countries," she said, explaining that Britain objected to hanging in Pakistan.

"There hasn't been a town or a city in Pakistan which has not been targeted by either the Taliban or the Al-Qaeda operations," said Baabar.

When he met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Brown asked if the British police could the only surviving gunman from the attacks, a Pakistani national currently being held in India.