The Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s malevolent role in supporting global terrorism is recognised yet again.
UK’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband in an interview with Fareed Zakaria on CNN says “70 percent plus” of the UK’s “terrorism problems” are linked to the Islamic Republic:
ZAKARIA: You in Britain have a particular problem, because one of the things that has puzzled many people is, after the London bombings, the 7/7 bombings of the subway, people looked at London and Britain's Muslims and thought, wait a minute. These people can't be upset because they don't have democracy. They live in one of the world's most established democracies. They can't be upset because they're poor. They were not poor.
So, why does Britain have some part of its Muslim population that is radicalized, alienated and susceptible to terror?
MILIBAND: Well, that's a good question. I think the first thing one has to say is, "some part." I mean, Britain is a country of successful Muslim businesspeople, teachers and educators, journalists. So, we have to say very strongly that the two million plus Muslims in Britain, the vast bulk of them make a huge contribution to our society, and they actually make it the vibrant society it is.
But there is a radicalization that has happened. The detailed work on that suggests that a combination of exclusion, anger, not simply poverty, income levels, speaks to that. Also, there's no question that there are links back into Pakistan for 70 percent plus of our terrorism problems.
And I think that that is a big challenge, obviously, because you're right. It's not susceptible to a simple answer about...
Elsewhere in the interview David Miliband nicely demolishes Pakistan’s H&D aka Honour & Dignity by praising India as “successful” and Pakistan, among others, as “deeply challenged”:
The enemy that Pakistan faces is a domestic terrorist enemy, not a large and successful neighbor, India, which has got far better things to do in the world of commerce and politics than end up in a standoff with Pakistan.
But remember, 61 years, India is the world's largest and most successful -- the largest democracy and the success story of the region.
Pakistan, 31 years of military rule, two-thirds of its boundaries still contested. Communities from Baluchistan through to the Punjab split by lines between countries, and, of course, the Bangladesh experience of the early 1970s. So, you see, let me just make the point that Pakistan has been a society deeply challenged -- socioeconomically, politically, geographically -- over the last 60 years.
The complete interview transcript is available here:
CNN