If the British premier was in the mood to forget the past, Mr Gilani was also willing to let bygones be bygones. — File Photo

ISLAMABAD: British Prime Minister David Cameron called on Tuesday for a fresh start in relations with Pakistan and said tensions of the past shouldn’t hold back the two countries. Earlier he signed with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani a document titled ‘Enhanced Strategic Dialogue’ which represents the commitment of both countries to deepen their relationship.

However, his words generated more excitement than the document he signed during his day-long trip. The emphasis that Prime Minister Cameron placed on clearing the misunderstandings of the past was evident from his use of an Urdu phrase to convey his message. “Let’s today make a Naya Aghaz (fresh start) in our relationship,” he said in a speech at a university in which he discussed different aspects of bilateral relations and his vision for improving them.

Listeners knew what he was referring to; last year Mr Cameron, while visiting India, had riled Pakistan by accusing elements within the country of “export of terror”, warning that it (Pakistan) should not be allowed to “look both ways” on terrorism.

But on Tuesday in Islamabad he appeared to be a completely different person. In his speech, he candidly listed the issues that had caused strains in the ties -- UK’s relations with India, concerns over security and questions about governance. At the same time he also acknowledged the sacrifices by the Pakistani people and their security forces as he said that Pakistan was engaged in “a huge fight against terrorism that had cost the lives of many, many people”.

If the British premier was in the mood to forget the past, Mr Gilani was also willing to let bygones be bygones. At the joint press conference, he sidestepped the question about whether or not Pakistan had forgotten the UK premier’s comments on Pakistan in India last year.

The British prime minister, replying to another query, disagreed that doubts that originated from the West in general and Britain in particular about Pakistan’s commitment to fight terror were “unhelpful”.

“We want to work with our friends in Pakistan to fight terrorism, whether it is terrorism that you yourself are fighting here, whether it is working with us for a stable Afghanistan, or fighting terrorism that has done harm elsewhere in the region,” he said.

Mr Gilani, on this occasion, also recalled the country’s sacrifices in the war on terror. “We’ve the ability and we have the resolve and we are fighting and we’ve paid a very heavy price for that.”

UK’s interest in bolstering its security cooperation with Pakistan was apparent from the security dialogue, which included civilian, military and intelligence leadership of both the countries; British head of the armed forces General Sir David Richards and MI6 chief Sir John Sawers assisted Mr Cameron. Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI chief General Shuja Pasha were also present.

The security dialogue focused on dealing with extremist ideology and intensifying police and intelligence cooperation.

The dialogue was clearly the highlight of the visit though Mr Cameron used the occasion to announce a handsome amount of £650m in education aid and talked about taking steps for increasing bilateral trade to Rs350 billion per year by 2015.

The British side also offered to cooperate with Pakistan and the US in establishing a centre of excellence in Peshawar that would impart training in detection and forensic investigation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) as well as bomb disposal.

There is no doubt, however, that Mr Cameron was aware of the damage control that needed to be done over his comments in India. He told Pakistani students during his speech at the university that he didn’t favour the old-fashioned thinking of choosing sides in the region. “India is very important to the UK. Pakistan is very important to us too.”

Speaking on Afghanistan, another issue of importance to both the UK and Pakistan, he pledged to work with the various stakeholders for a political settlement of the imbroglio that would also have a “stabilising” impact on Pakistan.

For observers this remark was an indication that London was open to helping Islamabad address its concerns about the political set-up in Afghanistan once the coalition withdrew from Afghanistan.

Overall, the British prime minister was cautious in his public pronouncements and made a conscious effort to stay clear of controversies. However, he did appear less circumspect when he discussed economic reforms.

“You are not raising the resources necessary to pay for things that a modern state and people require,” he said, adding: “Not fair on you, ordinary Pakistanis, who suffer at the sharpest end of this weak governance.”

These were not idle words as the aid increase and the new education assistance announced by the British government is linked to Islamabad’s pace of economic reforms. Of the £650 million pledged in assistance for education, Pakistan will get £60 million in the first year, but subsequent funding will depend on progress in economic reforms and in tackling corruption.

Mr Cameron also promised to nudge the World Trade Organisation to agree to EU’s emergency trade package for Pakistan and to pursue the case of GSP+ (preferential trade arrangement) and Free Trade Agreement for Pakistan with the EU itself.

But the British premier minced no words as he explained that helping Pakistan was not easy: “My job is made more difficult when people in Britain look at Pakistan, a country that receives millions of pounds of our aid money, and see weaknesses in terms of government capacity and waste.”

At the same time he used the occasion to argue for the need for the British people to aid Pakistan by saying: “I struggle to find a country that’s more in our interest to progress and succeed than Pakistan.”

He also gently reminded his own voters that the help he extended, which they would pay for, was in Britain’s long-term interest. “If Pakistan succeeds then we will have a good story ... if it fails we will have all the problems of migration and extremism.”

Ominous words that perhaps express how he and his counterparts in the West view Pakistan.