British Prime Minister David Cameron stands by his comments on Pakistan and the export of terrorism which sparked a row with Islamabad, his spokeswoman said on Monday before a visit by President Asif Ali Zardari.
"He stands by his remarks," said the spokeswoman, while stressing that the British premier had not been referring to the Pakistani government itself supporting terrorism. "He was referring to elements within Pakistan supporting terrorism, not the Pakistani government," she said, after Britain's high commissioner to Islamabad was summoned to the Foreign Ministry.
Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said after the latest comments that the response was "very unfortunate" but that President Zardari would not postpone his visit to Britain in protest.
The British spokeswoman had earlier insisted that there were "very good, strong" links between Britain and Pakistan on many levels, adding: "We want to continue to work very closely with Pakistan in the future." |