Islamabad: Britain on Thursday conveyed to Pakistan its concern at the killing of senior journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad and the assault of another reporter and called for action to be taken against those responsible for such incidents.
Visiting British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he had raised his country's concerns on the issue during his meeting with Pakistan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar.
Referring to the killing of Shahzad and the assault on Waqar Kiani at a news conference he addressed jointly with Khar, Hague said: "It is vital that those responsible are brought to justice."
Shahzad went missing while driving from his home to a TV station in Islamabad on May 29, two days after he alleged in an article that al-Qaeda had infiltrated the Pakistan Navy. Journalists' associations and rights groups have blamed the Inter-Services Intelligence for Shahzad's abduction, a charge denied by the Pakistani spy agency.
Kiani was assaulted in the federal capital by men wearing police uniforms on June 18, just five days after he spoke out about his abduction and torture by suspected intelligence agents in 2008.
He has worked for Britain's Guardian newspaper. During the talks between Khar and Hague, the two countries agreed to prepare a comprehensive plan of action to intensify cooperation in trade and business, defence and security, development, education, health and culture. Khar said these areas were identified as constituents of the enhanced strategic dialogue between the two countries and Pakistan will share a working paper with Britain on ways to move forward in each sector.
Khar said the two sides had also agreed to enlarge the role of the British-Pakistan Foundation that was formally launched in October 2010.
Pakistan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs appreciated comments made by British Prime Minister David Cameron that any enemy of Pakistan is the enemy of Britain and said this was very significant in view of the immense sufferings of the Pakistani people and economic price that the country has had to pay because of its role in the war against terror.
Khar said the two sides had agreed to take concrete steps through working papers to increase bilateral trade to 2. 5 billion pounds by 2015.
She said Pakistan wants to start negotiations for a free trade agreement with the European Union. Pakistan is fully behind an Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, Khar told Hague.
Hague said Pakistan and Britain have an unbreakable partnership and a shared determination to defeat terrorism and violent extremist.
He said it was in the interest of both countries to sustain their strategic relationship based on mutual respect and mutual trust.
Pakistan has a very important and responsible role to play in promoting the Afghan-led reconciliation and peace efforts in Afghanistan, he said.
On behalf of the British Prime Minister, Hague extended an invitation to Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousuf Raza Gilani to visit London in April next year for an annual summit level review of bilateral relations.
Replying to a question, Hague said contacts with the Afghan Taliban are preliminary in nature. He asserted that the political process was necessary for sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Responding to another question, he said Britain would continue to remain engaged with Afghanistan even beyond 2014 when the withdrawal of foreign troops is proposed to be completed.
Asked about the prospects of the success of the Afghan-led peace process, Khar said, "If we are able to get more clarity in our approach and work together, then certainly peace would become a reality."
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