ISLAMABAD, 7 October 2004 — British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon held talks yesterday with President Pervez Musharraf and endorsed his army’s operations against Al-Qaeda fighters along the Afghan frontier.
“We certainly held some extremely good discussions about the efforts being made by Pakistan to deal with the threats across the border,” Hoon told reporters at the end of a two-day visit to Pakistan.
“It’s something that the UK government strongly welcomes because obviously in the course of our operations in Afghanistan in the past there has been a difficulty of Al-Qaeda terrorists making their escapes into the mountains and beyond. So the combination of efforts on the both sides of the border, I believe, will be increasingly successful.”
Musharraf “underlined the need for enhancement of defense cooperation” between Britain and his country during talks, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Elections and security in Afghanistan “figured prominently” during the talks. Musharraf said Pakistan was committed to restoring peace and stability in its neighbor and was extending “all out assistance” in helping hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees register and vote.
Pakistani forces have stepped up offensives this year against Al-Qaeda and Taleban fighters in semi-autonomous tribal areas along the Afghan border.
Hoon said more joint efforts by Pakistan and US-led forces in Afghanistan would ultimately defeat insurgents who have been melting back and forth across the border.
Hoon who flew to Islamabad from New Delhi on Monday encouraged the formerly hostile neighbors in their burgeoning peace process. “It is important...to allow both countries to work together successfully to achieve that resolution, and steps that Pakistan has been taking, as I have indicated, are very, very welcome,” he said. Hoon also met his Pakistani counterpart Rao Sikandar Iqbal. The two sides agreed to increase defense cooperation. “I have been delighted to meet my colleagues here in Pakistan,” Hoon said.
Later yesterday Hoon arrived in New Delhi on a three-day visit aimed at strengthening India-Britain defense ties. At delegation-level talks with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee, Hoon said Britain wanted closer interaction with India in the area of defense cooperation. Hoon suggested that the two countries should explore areas for co-production of armament systems with joint investments. The two sides also discussed ways and means to combat growing international terrorism and reforms of the UN.