Winding up a two-day tour of Afghanistan, India and Pakistan, the Prime Minister urged Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's President, to "break the chain of terror" linking Islamist militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan to attempted terrorist attacks in Britain.
British military officials believe there are a "handful" of British militants fighting alongside the Taleban in Afghanistan, often entering the country through northern Pakistan, where al Qaeda and Taleban leaders are thought to be sheltering.
Officials also believe that there are currently around 30 major terrorist plots in the United Kingdom with 2,000 suspects being watched by police and the intelligence services.
"Three quarters of the most serious plots investigated by the British authorities have links to al-Qaeda in Pakistan," said Mr Brown in a press conference alongside Mr Zardari in the presidential palace in Islamabad. "The time has come for action, not words."
Speaking just a few hours after meeting Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister, in Delhi, Mr Brown also formally declared for the first time that Britain backs India's assertion that Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani militant group with links to Pakistan's military-run spy agency, carried out the Mumbai attack.
His remarks were clearly designed to heap pressure on Pakistan's civilian government to do more to crack down on militant groups in the wake of the Mumbai strike, which killed at least 170 people, including three British citizens.
The whirlwind trip was part of an international diplomatic effort, led by the United States, to prevent the Mumbai attacks from sparking a fourth war between India and Pakistan, which both have nuclear weapons.
Tensions between the two countries escalated briefly but dramatically on Saturday night when Pakistan accused Indian fighter jets of violating its airspace, causing delays on Mr Brown's flight from Kabul to Delhi. India denied any transgression.
At their meeting in Delhi this morning, Mr Singh presented Mr Brown with a private list of "confidence building measures" that India wants Pakistan to agree to in order to stabilise relations.
Mr Brown also secured permission for British police to interview the only surviving militant from the Mumbai attack to investigate whether he has British connections.
Mr Singh gave the go-ahead for police and intelligence officials to speak to Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab, who has been undergoing "sustained interrogation" in a Mumbai jail since being captured on the first day of the attack.
The Prime Minister's meeting with his Indian counterpart was "sober" and dominated by the aftermath of the attacks, according to officials.
Afterwards, Mr Brown offered his sympathies to the Indian people. "I wanted to come to India to give my condolences and the whole Indian people at the terrible terrorist outrage in Mumbai that has shocked the world," he said.
Landing in Islamabad, Mr Brown made it clear he was in no doubt that LeT was responsible for the attacks, adding "they have a great deal to answer for".
Officials said he had been assured by British intelligence that LeT was responsible, despite denials from the group and claims by Pakistan authorities that they have been no evidence to that effect.
Western intelligence services are believed to have intercepted phone calls made by the Mumbai bombers to militants in Pakistan.
The Prime Minister offered an additional £6 million of assistance for security equipment for Pakistan, which has seen 50 suicide attacks this year compared to 7 in the previous year. "The aim must be to work together to do everything in our power to cut off terrorism," he said.
However he was rebuffed at the press conference by President Zardari, who refused to acknowledge Pakistani militants' involvement in the Mumbai attacks.
"They have still not completed their investigation. I'm hoping once the Indian government shares the information with us we will find whether there will be any culprits and will take action," the President said.
Pakistani officials admit that "non-state actors" in Pakistan may have been involved, but say they must tread carefully to prevent a backlash from the Pakistani public or from the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency, Pakistan's military-run spy organisation.
They also say they are growing increasingly frustrated that Indian authorities have yet to show them any evidence against the Pakistani militants they been under pressure to arrest.
Meanwhile, US and British security services have been anxious to get involved in India's investigation to gain potentially valuable intelligence and bolster the case against Pakistani militants.
Mr Brown believes that interviewing Mr Qasab, the captured militant, will send a signal that the Mumbai attack was a crime against the international community as well as India.
Mr Qasab is currently in Indian custody until December 24 facing charges including murder, attempted murder, waging war against a country and criminal conspiracy.
He has said he is from Pakistan and has written to the Pakistani authorities asking for legal assistance, according to Indian police.
British police and intelligence services have been gathering evidence about the attacks in Mumbai for the last fortnight. They can interview Mr Qasab even if they have no intention of bringing British charges because one British citizen and two people with dual nationality were killed in the attacks.
Intelligence services do not have specific evidence that Mr Qasab has British links, but believe he may be able to shed light on terror networks active in Britain.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5339975.ece
JPTF 2008/12/14
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