Pakistan spy chief scraps UK trip on 'terror' remarks

Pakistan's spy chief has cancelled a trip to Britain, a spokesperson said on Saturday, but Islamabad played down a row over remarks by British prime minister David Cameron suggesting Pakistan was not doing enough to fight terrorism.

A spokesperson for the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) agency said on Saturday that senior intelligence officials, including ISI head Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, would not go to London on Monday as planned for counter-terrorism talks.

But president Asif Ali Zardari will still visit Britain next week, a government spokesperson said.

Cameron, speaking in India on Wednesday, told Islamabad that it must not become a base for militants and "promote the export of terror" across the globe.

A Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson said this week his country had been "saddened" by Cameron's remarks.

Information minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, already in Britain ahead of Cameron's remarks, said the British prime minister's remarks were "contrary to the facts" and "not in good taste".

"But our reasonable reaction is... we will discuss this matter at the highest level of the leadership and give them the facts," he told a news conference in London.

"If we go back into history, our relations with the UK are very good. And we want to keep up those relations, strengthen those relations," he said.

Pakistan's help is crucial for US and Western efforts to stabilise neighbouring Afghanistan.

Cameron's remarks came days after classified US military reports published on the WikiLeaks website detailed concerns that the ISI had aided the Taliban while Pakistan's government was taking billions of dollars in US aid.

Militant ties in spotlight
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, on a recent visit to Pakistan, said she believed al-Qaeda leaders were still hiding in Pakistan and that some elements in the Pakistani government knew where they were.

Cameron's remarks appear to have further annoyed Pakistan, which has launched a large military offensive against al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in its northwestern provinces bordering Afghanistan.

The ISI spokesman said more than 2,500 Pakistani soldiers had been killed and more than 4,000 wounded in battles against militants since the US-led war on Afghanistan in 2001.

More than 30,000 civilians have been killed or wounded in the same period, in addition to over 100 ISI officials, the spokesperson added.

India accuses Pakistan of supporting militants operating on its soil and peace talks between the two countries have been deadlocked since 2008 attacks in Mumbai.

Pakistan's economic losses have been estimated by the government at more than $68 billion since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and toppling of the Taliban government in 2001.

Cameron, asked by British broadcasters whether he regretted damaging relations with Pakistan ahead of the meeting, he said: "I don't accept that they have been damaged... I look forward to discussing these and other issues (with Zardari)."