Minister's concern over threat to Muslims

Pakistan’s interior minister today expressed concern over attacks against Muslims in Britain in the wake of last week’s bombings in London.

Pakistani authorities are concerned about the “happenings in Britain, where Muslims are being attacked after the recent bomb explosions in London”, Aftab Khan Sherpao told a news conference in the southern port city of Karachi.

“The terrorists have no faith. They are terrorists and an objective investigation should be carried out as to who was behind the terrorist plots,” he said.

More than 100 alleged revenge attacks – including the killing of a Pakistani immigrant – have been reported since the blasts in the heart of London.

Sherpao also repeated earlier claims that Pakistan gave British authorities intelligence that helped thwart a terror attack ahead of that country’s May general elections.

He again refused to give specifics.

London’s Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair told foreign journalists in London that he was not familiar with any such case or plot planned to coincide with the British election.

“We do not understand that particular reference,” he said.

However, the police commissioner said British authorities were co-operating with Pakistan, among many other countries, as part of the current investigation into the July 7 bombings.

Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani said Pakistan would help Britain in the investigation into the London bombings.

Asked to comment on a newspaper report that senior British officials are expected in Pakistan in connection with the probe, Jilani said: “We have co-operated in the past and we would continue to extend our maximum cooperation to the British government.”

Speaking at a news conference in the capital, Islamabad, Jilani did not elaborate.

The English-language daily The News reported that a team of senior British officials is likely to visit Pakistan next week to look into the suspects’ links.

Many Pakistanis have relatives in Britain, and ties between the nation and its former colonial ruler are still strong. Many dual citizens split time between the two countries. Others send back money every month to help support family members in Pakistan.