The West must not spark a row with Pakistan although Islamabad has plenty of questions to answer over Osama bin Laden, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Tuesday. Pakistan’s government has been a staunch ally in combating extremism, and triggering a rupture in relations would risk “massive instability”, he said. “There will be lots of questions about what sort of support system bin Laden had in Pakistan, and we need those questions answered,” Cameron told BBC radio on Tuesday.
“The right choice is to engage with Pakistan and to deal with the extremists rather than just throw up our hands in despair and walk away which would be a disastrous choice,” he said. “Pakistan has suffered more at the hands of terrorism than virtually any other country on Earth,” he said, adding “ it’s in our interests to back democratic forces within Pakistan, and the stronger that democracy can be the more the whole country will work together to deal with terrorism.”
Cameron said he spoke to Pakistan’s president and prime minister on Monday and said they “need our support and help to make sure the whole country is pulling in the same direction”. Britain would also honour its aid promises, notably the £650 million ($1.1 billion, 720 million euros) for education announced during Cameron’s visit to Islamabad last month. Cameron said his role was to make the “big choice” for Britain.
“We could, of course, go down the route of having some massive argument, a massive row with Pakistan. It is my very clear view that it is in our interests to work with the government and people. Because if we turn away from it and give up on them … you’re left with a nuclear power in danger of massive extremism and massive instability which would completely not be in our interests, “he said.