April 08, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 1, 1429

LONDON, April 7: Most Afghans blame Pakistan for their terrorist troubles, said Labour MP Sadiq Khan here on Monday.

Mr Khan who returned from Afghanistan recently had led a week-long independent fact-finding mission to the beleaguered country. He thought most of those who blamed Pakistan for their woes were in a state of denial. He said: “A large part of the trouble is indigenous for which you cannot blame your neighbour.”

Saad Mohsini, an Afghan media tycoon, said 70 per cent of the Afghans believe Pakistan was behind the terrorist activities inside their country, “mind you they don’t blame the people of Pakistan but its military and the ISI”.

Mr Khan and Mr Mohsini were talking to Dawn after they had briefed the media about Mr Khan’s delegation visit to Afghanistan.

The other members of Mr Khan’s delegation included Yasmin Qureshi, a leading British Muslim figure, Fatima Kurji Jumabhoy, a Barrister and Director at No 5 Chambers in London and Mustafa Suleyman, a person passionately committed to developing innovative approaches to social challenges.

The mission members appeared concerned about poverty, poppy, security and corruption in Afghanistan but they also thought that a lot of improvement had been made since the collapse of Taliban government. Some of the delegation members thought things would improve slowly and may even take decades.

Mr Khan said during the visit the delegates had the opportunity to meet with a range of people including Members of the Lower House; Education Minister; MPs from a range of provinces including Helmand, Chevening Scholars and university students. He said the delegates also visited a madressah in Kabul.

The visit was arranged under the Projecting British Islam, a programme of visits by prominent British Muslims to countries with a Muslim majority or with significant Muslim minorities. The programme is sponsored and organised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Global Opportunities Fund.