British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday called on India and Pakistan to strengthen their peace process and trade relations, saying the time is ripe for the two countries to replace the mistrust of the past with opportunities for mutual progress.
Cameron, who made a day-long visit to Islamabad at the invitation of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, said Britain wants a strong relationship with both India and Pakistan.
He lauded the meeting between the prime ministers of the two countries on the margins of the cricket World Cup semi-final on March 30 as "a tremendous sign of hope for the future".
"I believe the time is ripe for your countries to look even further beyond what divides you and embrace what unites you," Cameron said while addressing students and faculty at a university.
"Two democracies, with young, ambitious populations and all the potential in the world -- and you live side-by-side. The opportunities for mutual progress are simply enormous," he said.
Cameron acknowledged that there were "some who claim that in this part of the world, Britain will always side with India, and that can be a source of tension".
Noting that the approach of choosing sides is wrong and "driven by old-fashioned thinking", he said, adding this was a hang-up from the Cold War which "I don't have".
"So yes, India is very important to the UK. Pakistan is very important to us too. We don't have to choose between a strong relationship with either Pakistan or India -- we want a strong relationship with both," he said.
He pointed out that Pakistan today represents "just one per cent of all India's trade".
"And then there's the thing you can never put a price on....a stronger relationship between your countries addressing all the security concerns on both sides would mean peace and security for your people," the British leader said.
After British authorities traced major terror attacks like the 2005 London bombings to extremists in UK's one million-strong Pakistani community, London has worked hard to build stronger ties with Islamabad, especially in key areas like intelligence-sharing and education.
Britain has also urged Pakistan to take action against anti-India militant groups based on its soil, including the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, which carried out the 2008 Mumbai terror
attacks.
On a visit to India last year, Cameron had sparked a diplomatic row with Pakistan by accusing elements in the country of exporting terrorism.
During a joint news conference with Gilani on Tuesday, Cameron averted questions on those remarks and called on the two countries to make a 'fresh start' in their relations.
During his speech at the university, Cameron referred to the security situation in Pakistan and made it clear that Pakistan would have to cooperate with the West to eliminate terrorism and extremism.
He said that "neither the Pakistan Army nor NATO forces must ever tolerate sanctuaries for people plotting violence" and the actions taken by Pakistan in the country's tribal areas "are vital in this context".
Britain will continue to work with Pakistan "on tracing plots, on stopping them, on counter-surveillance and on intelligence gathering", he said.
He underlined the need to work closely together "in truly understanding and dealing with the causes of this terrorism."
"We need to be absolutely clear where the origins of these terrorist attacks lie. It is not Islam. The origin of the threat is the existence of an extremist ideology that seeks to distort Islam," Cameron said.
The British prime minister was accompanied by John Sawers, the head of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service or MI6, and the head of Britain's armed forces, General David Richards.
Besides Gilani, he also met President Asif Ali Zardari and other leaders for talks that marked the launch of the Enhanced Strategic Dialogue between the two countries.
