Gen Sharif Seeks British Help Against Baloch Dissidents in UK

Pakistan Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif met British Prime Minister David Cameron here to discuss issues related to regional security and sought their help against the outlawed Hizbut Tahrir radical group and the Baloch dissidents living in exile in the UK.

Sharif, who is on a three-day trip to the UK, opened his visit with a meeting with Chief of the Defence Staff Gen Sir Nicholas Houghton yesterday.

He later held meetings with Prime Minister Cameron, Defence Secretary Michael Fallen, National Security Adviser Sir Kim Darroch and Director General of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism Charles Farr.

Pakistan Army spokesman Major Gen Asim Bajwa said in a series of tweets that Sharif "raised issue of action against proscribed organisations, anti-Pakistan elements operating from outside the country and measures to choke terror financing".

Gen Sharif also discussed issues of "regional security, stability in Afghanistan, mutual defence and security cooperation," Bajwa said.

"The issue of UK-based organisations creating security problems in Pakistan was forcefully raised in all the meetings. The army chief specifically talked about the Hizbut Tahrir (HT) and the Baloch dissidents, who have taken up asylum in the UK," Bajwa was quoted as saying by the Dawn.

Hizbut Tahrir started operating in Pakistan in late 1990s and was proscribed by former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf in 2004 when their links with military officers were first exposed.

Security agencies also believe that Baloch dissidents living in the UK have been supporting the insurgency in Balochistan, Pakistan's largest province close to the border with Iran, the paper reported.

Sharif was expected to brief British leaders on Pakistan's war against terror and the ongoing Operation Zarb-i-Azb, launched by the Pakistan Army in mid-June to flush out Taliban militants from the region.

In October, months into Zarb-i-Azb, the army also launched Khyber 1, to clear out militant strongholds in the tribal region of Khyber, one of the seven semi-autonomous tribal districts near the Afghan border.

Over 7,500 people lost their lives in Pakistan last year due to terrorism, militant attacks, drone strikes, sectarian violence, targeted killings and security operations. 

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