In These New Times

Daily Times

1st November, 2008

ISLAMABAD: British Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw on Friday opposed repeated United States incursions into Pakistan’s territory, and urged Washington to respect the sovereignty and integrity of its vital allies. 

Talking to ARY OneWorld, he said the United Kingdom believed the consent of Pakistan was imperative for any such action inside its territory. He favoured the continuation of the Indo-Pak dialogue process, and said his country supported the settlement of disputes through negotiations. “The United Kingdom applauds Indo-Pak endeavours to extract an acceptable resolution of disputes, especially the resolution of the Kashmir issue.” Straw also expressed sympathies with the victims of Balochistan’s earthquake on behalf of the Queen, the government and the people of the UK, and vowed to provide all possible help to the quake-stricken people. To a question, he said the UK favoured the establishment of independent judiciary in Pakistan. app