Asif Ali Zardari

Zardari admits Cameron ‘hurt’ him

Zardari admits Cameron ‘hurt’ him

By politics.co.uk staff

Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to Britain finished as acrimoniously as it began yesterday.

At a political rally in Birmingham before departing he faced heckling from protestors. The Sunday Telegraph reported an elderly man threw his shoe at him in a traditional Muslim insult.

Pakistanis have criticised Mr Zardari for going ahead with the visit despite the flooding blighting his home country. Latest reports indicate about 14 million people have been affected, with at least 1,600 dead.

“These meetings are planned months in advance, and my coming abroad has drawn more attention to them than I myself would have been able to draw,” Mr Zardari said.

His visit will be remembered, too, for the poor diplomatic relations he experienced with David Cameron. The prime minister triggered controversy by publicly rebuking Pakistan about its intelligence service’s links with the Taliban.

Mr Zardari’s wife Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a terrorist attack, but Mr Cameron pressed that the country could not “look both ways” in comments made on Indian soil last week.

“Everybody is sensitive, as we have lost so many people, including my late wife [Benazir Bhutto], so to have your credentials questioned does hurt sometimes,” the Pakistani president told the Times.

“No matter how brave you are, it hurts.”

Mr Cameron stuck by his comments this week. Downing Street said the pair had reached an understanding on the problems facing Pakistan during official talks held on Friday, but analysts believe the last few weeks have seen Britain’s relationship with Pakistan get worse rather than better.