Zardari to confront David Cameron on terror claim

Ahead of his visit to UK, president Asif Ali Zardari today said he intended to confront David Cameron on his stinging remarks about Pakistan's support for terror as the British prime minister insisted that he did not regret his comments.

"The war against terrorism must unite us and not divide us," Zardari told the French newspaper Le Monde after meeting top French leaders, including president Nicolas Sarkozy, before leaving for London where he will meet Cameron.

"I will explain face-to-face that it is my country that is paying the highest price for war against terror," Zardari, who is facing flak back home for embarking on a foreign tour, said of his meeting with British prime minister on Friday.

But Cameron remained unrelenting insisting that he did not regret his comments.

As the issue continued to cloud Zardari's visit to Britain, Cameron said he had given "a pretty clear and frank answer" to a straight question while on a visit to India last week.

"I don't regret that at all," Cameron told the BBC Radio.

The British prime minister said, "There has been and still is a problem of terror groups in Pakistan that threaten other countries.

"[They] also threaten our troops in Afghanistan, threaten India and threaten us in the UK, and  need to be dealt with," Cameron said.

Cameron in public remarks in Bangalore had said, "We cannot tolerate in any sense that this country (Pakistan) is allowed to look both ways and is able in any way to promote the export of terror."

His strong comments came after a massive US intelligence leaks that alleged links between Pakistan's powerful ISI and Taliban terror group in Afghanistan.

The Pakistan president in an interview to French newspaper warned that coalition forces were losing the war in Afghanistan.

"The international community of which Pakistan is a part is losing the war against the Taliban. This is because we have lost the battle to win hearts and minds," Zardari told Le Monde.

While ruling out that Taliban had no chance of regaining power, the President claimed that the group's grip was strengthening.

The Pakistan president is scheduled to meet Cameron in the British prime minister's country retreat, Chequers, outside London as back home calls by politicians grew to cancel his trip.

Zardari's office rejected the idea and in a statement said that the trip will give the president a chance to make the country's case.