Brown Talks Terrorism With Pakistani PM

British PM Gordon Brown held talks with Pakistani leaders today, appearing at a joint press conference with his counterpart, Yusuf Raza Gilani, after President Asif Ali Zardari dropped out at the last minute. The BBC attributes the snub to unhappiness with the recent British arrest of 11 Pakistani nationals on suspicion of terrorism; all were later released without charges. Brown also outlined a strategic shift in Afghanistan earlier today, focusing on the area near Pakistan, which he called a “crucible for terrorism.”

Brown told Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai that Britain would combat terrorism both within Afghanistan “and on the other side of the border in Pakistan.” Brown said a "chain of terror" runs from the mountainous region to capital cities worldwide, and provinces must be restored to government control one by one. (More Gordon Brown stories.)