'Straight-talking' Cameron keeps the heat on Pakistan

Published on Thursday 29 July 2010 15:06

DAVID CAMERON insisted yesterday that he has a duty to speak "clearly and plainly" about the threat of terrorism after claiming Pakistan must do more to tackle the issue.

The Prime Minister ignored calls from Pakistan's high commissioner to London for him to "make amends" and repeated that Islamabad must "crack down" on terrorist groups.

But he stopped short of his provocative claim that Pakistan must not "export terror to the world" or be allowed to "look both ways" on the issue.

Apparently signalling a new era of straight-talking diplomacy, Mr Cameron said: "I believe in speaking clearly and plainly about these matters and we have seen not just the threat of terrorism but the reality of terrorism in the enormous losses that we saw on the streets of Mumbai, that we have seen on the streets of London, and that we see week after week in Afghanistan.

"It is not acceptable, as I have said, for there to be within Pakistan the existence of terror groups that cause terrorism both within Pakistan and also outside Pakistan, in Afghanistan, in India and elsewhere in our world.

"What we will continue to do is work with the Pakistan government to do everything that we can to encourage them to crack down and to take on these groups that have caused so much pain and so much suffering."

But his latest comments, at yesterday's joint press conference with Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh at the end of a visit to New Delhi, were not as strong as those he made off-the-cuff on Wednesday.

They caused Pakistan's high commissioner in London, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, to say that people in his country were "really hurt".

He also suggested that the Prime Minister had made a mistake because he was inexperienced. Mr Hasan said he hoped Mr Cameron's comments were a "slip of the tongue" and "not a meant slight by him".

"He is new in government, maybe he will learn soon and he will know how to handle things," said the high commissioner.

Foreign Secretary William Hague defended the Prime Minister last night, saying he was "a great diplomat . . . a natural".

But the PM faces a potentially difficult meeting with Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari, when he visits his country retreat of Chequers next week.

He also faced criticism from Labour yesterday over his outspoken comments.Former foreign secretary David Miliband accused Mr Cameron of being a "loudmouth" over his remarks about Pakistan's record on terrorism.

Mr Miliband said there was a "big difference between straight talking and being a loudmouth" as he claimed Mr Cameron had been "going off script" in recent public statements.

The Labour leadership contender said everyone had "two ears and one mouth" and it was important to use them "in that proportion" when it came to foreign policy.