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No credible evidence of Al Qaeda presence in Pakistan, says FO

* Spokesman says Pak embassy in London gathering details regarding arrests of certain Pakistani nationals in Britain

By Sajjad Malik

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has not received any credible intelligence report about the presence of Al Qaeda leadership inside its borders, Foreign Office (FO) spokesman Abdul Basit said on Thursday.

“We have not come across any authentic intelligence which would indicate that Al Qaeda leadership is in Pakistan, and we do not attach importance to speculations,” Basit said in a weekly briefing.

He said the United States drone attacks might have achieved certain tactical gains but they were largely counterproductive and in violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. “We cannot condone these attacks,” he said.

Basit said the next Pak-Afghan-US meeting would be held in Washington in May and Pakistan would raise the issue of drone attacks again.

Approach: The FO spokesman said Islamabad had differences with Washington over certain issues, including the drone attacks, but the two sides agreed on a holistic and comprehensive approach to address regional problems.

Gathering details: He said Pakistan’s High Commission in London was gathering details regarding the arrests of certain Pakistani nationals in Britain.

Basist said draft legislation had already been moved in the US Congress and Pakistan hoped that the Congress would pass both the Kerry-Lugar Bill and the reconstruction opportunity zones legislation by June.

He said President Asif Ali Zardari would visit Japan on April 15-17 and would hold meetings with the Japanese leadership on April 16 and chair a Friends of Democratic Pakistan ministerial meeting on April 17, adding that the president would also attend the inaugural session of the Donors’ Conference.

The FO spokesman said Islamabad was closely following developments following a missile launch by North Korea on April 5.

“Pakistan will continue supporting efforts towards peace and stability on the Korean peninsula,” he said.

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