ISLAMABAD, Feb 26: British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Margaret Becket on Monday warned that Iran was treading a dangerous path by refusing to suspend uranium enrichment.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri, she said nobody disputed the right of Iran to seek civil nuclear energy.

She said several proposals had been made to Iran that would allow the country everything it needed to develop a modern civil nuclear power industry and provide a basis for wider cooperation.

Ms Becket said Iran had failed to take this positive path and comply with Security Council requirements. "As envisaged in Resolution 1737, we will, therefore, work for adopting further Security Council measures, which will lead to further isolation of Iran internationally," she added.

Ms Beckett said that if Iran’s claims of pursuing a nuclear programme for peaceful purposes were correct, why was Iran not suspending uranium enrichment?

"We remain determined to prevent Iran from acquiring the means to develop nuclear weapons," she said.

"We will continue encouraging Iran to get back to negotiations."

Ms Beckett appreciated President Musharraf's new initiative for resolving the Middle East crisis and said that it reflected Pakistan's desire to play an active role in the settlement of Palestine problems.

Answering a question about continued criticism of Pakistan from the West despite its full cooperation in the war on terror, she said Britain recognised Pakistan's role in counter-terrorism. She, however, emphasised that there was much needed to be done by all countries. "There should be no safe havens for terrorists."

Ms Beckett called for enhanced cooperation and coordination between Pakistan and the UK to overcome threats of terrorism and narcotics in Afghanistan and said a stable Afghanistan was in the interest of both the countries.

Mr Kasuri was prompt in presenting his point of view on the issue and regretted that Pakistan was accused when somebody crossed into Afghanistan and it was held responsible when somebody from the Afghan side entered Pakistan. He asked: "Why the terrorists who come to Pakistan for recruitments do not get killed in Afghanistan?"

He said Pakistan had arrested many Al Qaeda leaders and activists, adding that it was not the sole responsibility of Pakistan to control cross-border terrorism. He said security was weak on the Afghanistan side because Pakistan had 1,000 checkposts along its border as compared to mere 100 on the other side.

The British foreign secretary said her country was committed to bringing peace to Afghanistan with the help of Nato. She observed that there were difficulties in Afghanistan due to neglect of the international community.

When asked to comment on reports of discriminatory attitude meted out to the British nationals of Pakistani origin, she said her country placed in high esteem Muslim expatriates and recognised their contributions in the development of Britain.

Mr Kasuri sought a fair market access for Pakistani products to the European Union for sustaining Pakistan's high economic growth rate and fighting poverty and extremism.

He praised Britain for enhancing its development assistance to Pakistan to 480 million pounds in the next three years and appreciated the long-term strategy employed by UK's Department for International Development.

Mr Kasuri described his meeting with Ms Beckett as highly useful and said: "We discussed the enhancement of cooperation in a number of areas. We explored possibilities of further increasing the existing bilateral trade of $1.7 billion."

Earlier, Ms Becket called on President General Pervez Musharraf and discussed with him regional and international issues of mutual interest, including Pakistan-India relations and the composite dialogue for resolving core issues, including the Kashmir dispute, Afghanistan, Iran and the Middle East.