MP calls on UK to distance itself from US foreign policy
The Tooting MP said differences between the foreign policies of the UK and US needed to be emphasised
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Sunday, 12, Apr 2009 11:50
Community cohesion minister Sadiq Khan has called on the UK government to distance itself from the US policy of missile attacks on Pakistani territory.
The Tooting MP, who just returned from a fact finding mission to Pakistan, said he had seen the "anger and frustration" caused by the attacks by unmanned drones in the borderlands between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Mr Khan said the people he spoke to in Pakistan blamed the UK for drone attacks conducted by the US and urged the government to ensure that UK policy was seen as distinct from that of the Obama administration.
He said: "The anger and frustration at the drone attacks was huge. The view they [the students] had was that the UK was somehow responsible for this. They haven't understood this was purely a US matter.
"They lumped us together with the US, which to me is a poison. It demonstrates to me we have a big problem," he added.
Mr Khan said that emphasising the difference between the two country's policies would help the UK win Pakistani hearts and minds.
He urged the government to highlight how the UK's policy on Iraq, Pakistan and development aid contrasted with that of the US.
"For example," said Mr Khan. "This month the last troops will come home from Iraq: that's very different from the US. The drone attacks are US, not UK; our development policy doesn't have the strings that come with US aid."
Last week, 11 Pakistanis on student visas were arrested in connection with a suspected terrorist plot raising concerns about the regime for background checks for international students.