Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Lammy visits Pakistan amid worry over ‘fragile ceasefire’

Foreign secretary hails 'responsible diaspora' in light of recent tensions

Lammy visits Pakistan amid worry over ‘fragile ceasefire’

David Lammy and Ishaq Dar

FOREIGN SECRETARY David Lammy has described the India-Pakistan ceasefire as “fragile” as he travelled to Islamabad last Friday (16) for a quick visit following the recent conflict in the region.

Lammy met Pakistan’s senior cabinet ministers, including prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, foreign minister Ishaq Dar and interior minister, Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi.


“It’s important the ceasefire holds, and I describe it as fragile, which is why I’m here,” Lammy told journalists on a call last Friday.

It was the first visit by a UK foreign secretary to Pakistan in the past four years.

Lammy also met consular staff who helped families as tensions escalated between India and Pakistan following a terrorist attack in Pahalgam last month.

India launched strikes against what it said were “terrorist camps” in Pakistan on May 7. Four days of intense tit-for-tat drone, missile and artillery exchanges with Islamabad followed. More than 70 people, including dozens of civilians, died on both sides.

New Delhi and Islamabad later agreed to a ceasefire after world leaders, including from the US and UK, said they spoke to the leadership of both south Asian countries.

“Both countries are long-standing friends of the UK,” Lammy said, adding, “I’ve been in close contact with my counterparts to caution against further escalation and push for a ceasefire.

“I’ve been in regular contact with counterparts in the United States, in Saudi Arabia, in UAE, in the European Union, to discuss how best the UK can work with India and Pakistan to avoid further conflict.

“But reaching a ceasefire is the important thing. And at the heart of sustaining the ceasefire is Pakistan and India having good relations themselves.”

He added, “I want to put on record how impressive I found the statesmanship, both of Pakistan and India, in de-escalating tensions and agreeing to a ceasefire.”

With Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi

The foreign secretary condemned the terrorist attack in Indian Kashmir when tourists were targeted and shot dead.

He said, “I’ve been absolutely clear that the terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir was horrific, and our thoughts are with those affected, their loved ones, and of course, the people of India.

“The UK government has always been clear in condemning terrorism of all forms, in no uncertain terms.

“And I called (India’s foreign) minister S Jaishankar to offer my condolences.

“In Pakistan, I have been discussing the issue of terrorism and how we deal with terrorism here in Pakistan. Of course, Pakistan, too, has been subject to horrendous terrorism in the recent past.

“The immediacy has been to get to a ceasefire and to see the de-escalation, and to build a horizon where there is confidence, where there is dialogue.

“But, absolutely, we have to bear down on the terrorist threat that exists and the militancy that goes alongside it.”

According to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), in his meetings with senior counterparts, including the prime minister, Lammy highlighted the “immeasurable contribution” people of Pakistani descent have made to British life.

“We are friends with both countries. We have deep relations with both sides,” Lammy said.

In response to a question about India providing evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in the Pahalgam attack, the foreign secretary said, “I wouldn’t expect India to share their matters of national security with me, necessarily.

“What we’re here to do is to ensure and support friends, to maintain an enduring ceasefire. That’s the thrust of my conversations here in Pakistan, while recognising that terrorism does have to be dealt with, and there are concerns that there are groups here engaged in causing harm.”

According to the foreign secretary, he discussed a visit with Pakistan’s foreign minister. However, “it’s unfortunate that I’ve come in the shadow of conflict, although I’m pleased that we now have this fragile ceasefire in place”.

Lammy also met Dar and Raza Naqvi during his visit , and discussed “important links in the friendship between our countries, issues of trade, cooperation, culture, exchange, the support we give Pakistan on the climate crisis and development”.

Previously, rising tensions in the subcontinent (including the most recent one) led to protests and demonstrations in the UK, with migrants of both Indian and Pakistani origin having settled in many cities and towns across the country.

Leicester witnessed scenes of violence a few years ago, but Lammy said this time communities acted responsibly.

He told Eastern Eye, “This has been an unsettling period for communities up and down the country – we’ve got well over three million people who have their origins from India and Pakistan.

Meeting consular staff at the British High Commission in Islamabad last Friday (16)

“We had oral questions in the House on Tuesday (13), and MPs took the opportunity to raise these issues. I know local authorities have also been engaged in communities broadly across the country.

“Of course, there has been anxiety and concern, but we do have communities that live side by side. Even though the images we’ve seen coming out of India and Pakistan have been deeply troubling, communities have acted responsibly and have actually been more focused on loved ones back in those countries than in disharmony within our own.”

He described how consular staff provided crucial support and advice to British citizens in Pakistan during the peak of recent tensions. “Between them, they’ve taken over 2,000 calls from people who were understandably very worried, particularly last weekend,” Lammy said.

He explained that they worked with airlines once Pakistan lifted its airspace restrictions, and helped people get emergency travel documents. “They also told me about how they helped people find access to pharmacies where they were running out of critical medicines because the airspace was closed,” Lammy said.

The FCDO said the foreign secretary has also been in “frequent contact with the government of India, having engaged with his counterpart last Thursday (15), and will look to travel to New Delhi soon to build on the strength of the UK-India relationship”.

More For You

Hindu temple seeks permission to submerge statues in Dorset waters

Devotees offer prayers at Shree Krishna Mandir in Leamington Spa

Hindu temple seeks permission to submerge statues in Dorset waters

A HINDU temple in Warwickshire has applied for permission to sink twelve marble statues into the sea off Dorset's Jurassic Coast as part of an ancient religious ceremony, reported the BBC.

The Shree Krishna Mandir in Leamington Spa wants to carry out a Murti Visarjan ritual in Weymouth Bay this September, which involves the ceremonial submersion of deity statues to represent the cycle of creation and dissolution in Hindu tradition.

Keep ReadingShow less
Thunderstorms to Hit England and Wales: Met Office Issues Alert

The Met Office has cautioned that these conditions could lead to travel disruption

iStock

Weather warning issued for thunderstorms across parts of England and Wales

A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms has been issued by the Met Office for large parts of southern England, the Midlands, and south Wales, with the alert in effect from 09:00 to 18:00 BST on Saturday, 8 June.

According to the UK’s national weather agency, intense downpours could bring 10–15mm of rainfall in under an hour, while some areas may see as much as 30–40mm over a few hours due to successive storms. Frequent lightning, hail, and gusty winds are also expected to accompany the thunderstorms.

Keep ReadingShow less
David Lammy arrives in India for trade and security talks

Foreign secretary David Lammy. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

David Lammy arrives in India for trade and security talks

FOREIGN SECRETARY David Lammy arrived in Delhi on Saturday (7) for a two-day visit aimed at strengthening economic and security ties with India, following the landmark free trade agreement finalised last month.

During his visit, Lammy will hold wide-ranging talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and is scheduled to meet prime minister Narendra Modi, as well as commerce minister Piyush Goyal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Seema Misra
Seema Misra was wrongly imprisoned in 2010 after being accused of stealing £75,000 from her Post Office branch in Surrey, where she was the subpostmistress. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Seema Misra says son fears she could be jailed again

SEEMA MISRA, a former sub-postmistress from Surrey who was wrongly jailed in the Post Office scandal, told MPs that her teenage son fears she could be sent to prison again.

Misra served five months in jail in 2010 after being wrongly convicted of theft. She said she was pregnant at the time, and the only reason she did not take her own life was because of her unborn child, The Times reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
bradford-murder

Habibur Masum pleaded guilty at Bradford Crown Court to manslaughter and possession of a bladed article. (Photo: West Yorkshire Police)

West Yorkshire Police

Bradford stabbing: Husband pleads guilty to manslaughter, denies murder

A MAN has admitted killing his wife as she pushed their baby in a pram through Bradford city centre, but has denied her murder.

Habibur Masum, 26, pleaded guilty at Bradford Crown Court to manslaughter and possession of a bladed article. He denied the charge of murder. The victim, 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter, was stabbed multiple times on 6 April last year. The baby was unharmed.

Keep ReadingShow less