Our politics reporter Adam Pasternicki talks to Britain's High Commissioner to Pakistan
Q. We're always hearing that Pakistan's border region with Afghanistan is a dangerous and lawless area. Why is that? What's going on there?
A: That area has traditionally not been under the central government of Pakistan - just as it wasn't under the government of British India before that. So they've been allowed to govern themselves, within limits set by the centre. The problem is, over time, they have become ungoverned places. It's allowed criminals and terrorists to exploit the fact and hide there and get away with things without being touched by law enforcement. And that's really why it's become a source of difficulties. After 9/11, Osama bin Laden and the leadership of al Qaeda crossed over from Afghanistan and took refuge in those very remote, mountainous areas. And they're still there. They've been attracting other people to go there and train, and then go out and carry out terrorist attacks, whether it's in Pakistan, or Afghanistan, or Europe, or elsewhere.
Q. Have you seen evidence that bin Laden and other people are in that region?
A. Yes.There's a lot of evidence that they are still there, that they're hiding there. I don't think they find it very comfortable. They're having to move around, but they are definitely still there in that region.
Q:What was the last piece of evidence you saw suggesting that?
A. I can't put a date on that, but I can say there's a lot of information coming through. It's every week
Q. If you had to pick a figure on your certainty that Osama bin Laden's there - between 0% and 100%, what would it be?
A. 100% certain he's in those tribal areas.
Q. Is there any possibility of British special forces being used to try and capture them?
A. No there's not. The government of Pakistan is a sovereign government that is responsible for the territory of Pakistan. It's very different from Afghanistan, where the United Nations Security Council has given the international community authority to help the elected government of Afghanistan to try and help restore stability. In Pakistan, there isn't anything like that, and this is the responsibility of Pakistan. What we want to do is work together in partnership with the government of Pakistan to help them regain control of all of their territory.
Q. So if it's the government's responsibility, what do you think of drone attacks in that area?
A. This is obviously a difficult issue, and it's one the government of Pakistan and the government of the United States need to carry on talking about. Those attacks have killed a number of al Qaeda leaders, top terrorists, and they've made that area less safe than it was before. But they are very unpopular, and they cause a lot of anger in Pakistan, and it's easy to understand why. But the attacks are happening in areas which are very unpopulated, and are very precisely targeted.
Q. If the government in Pakistan doesn't give its permission for a drone attack then it's illegal isn't it?
A. I think you could say that, yes. That's why it's important, as I say, for the government of Pakistan and the government of the United States to discuss these things. This is clearly a very difficult issue. You have an area here which is not under control of the government. It's being used by terrorists to create and launch attacks against other countries. The United States has suffered particularly badly - on 9/11 - when 3,000 people were killed. So I can understand their concerns, as I understand the concerns of people in Pakistan. The best way forward is for those two governments to carry talking about the best way to tackle the terrorist threat.
Q. How worried are you about British Pakistanis travelling to the country for terror training?
A. I'm very concerned, because of the terror attacks that have happened in Britain, or the plots that are being investigated by our security authorities, three quarters of that total have links going back to al Qaeda in Pakistan. In some of those cases there is clear evidence which has come out in court and resulted in convictions for people in the British courts. These people went to Pakistan, got training, and then they came back to the UK.
Q. How many people who've been to Pakistan are you concerned about?
A. Most of the people who travel to and from Pakistan - and there are a huge number of them - are normal, ordinary, innocent people, who are visiting family and friends, or going there on business. They've got nothing to do with extremism. What we're talking about here is a very small number of people who are trying to, ultimately, kill innocent people. Those are the ones we're worried about. Our own security services have put a figure of about two thousand people in the UK who are connected to terror investigations, so it's somewhere around that figure.
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