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January 28, 2008
Brown meets Musharraf: London Protests

London
Pro-democracy demonstrators Monday called upon the British government not to give visiting Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf a "red carpet treatment" as he and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met in London.

"We have never seen a demonstration like this in London for a Pakistani leader. People here are angry," said Lord Ahmed, a member of the ruling Labour party and Britain's upper house of parliament.

"This man is being given a red carpet treatment by this government. He is a retired general - he needs to go," he said as a large crowd of about 1,000 demonstrators collected outside the prime minister's office in central London.

Protesters, led by Pakistani opposition leader and ex-cricketer Imran Khan and his wife Jemima, fear planned general elections in Pakistan Feb 18 will not be free and fair.

Gordon Brown was also expected to urge Musharraf to take steps to ensure the Feb 18 elections are free and fair.

Musharraf, who is on a three-day visit to Britain, is likely to be offered more British help and equipment to fight terrorism and extremism in Pakistan.

The BBC said Brown will press for much more spending on state schools in Pakistan to provide a real alternative to madrassa schools, accused of teaching radicalism and violence.

The two were also thought to have discussed the safety of Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

More protests are expected this week by human rights campaigners, who have been campaigning against Musharraf's dismissal of independent judges in Pakistan.

January 28, 2008   

IANS | Top