ISLAMABAD, April 7: British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said here on Monday that there were connections between terrorist organisations operating in the UK and Pakistan.

Threats to the UK had connections here, she said, adding that threats to Pakistan had been traced back to the UK. Ms Smith was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a calligraphic exhibition held at the National Art Gallery.She said that the terrorist organisations represented a very small minority and were needed to be isolated and condemned collectively.

She said Pakistan faced the major brunt and hundreds of its people died in suicide attacks last year. “Many of the attacks had been against undefended targets and most of the causalities were innocent civilians.”

Ms Smith said that cooperation and dialogue between security agencies of the two countries were vital. “Pakistani agencies have played a key role in important counter-terrorist investigations in the UK in recent years.”

She said that cooperation between the services of the two countries continued after the attacks in London in July 2005 and during the alleged operation to destroy airliners en route to the US in 2006.

Ms Smith said she knew the new political set-up in Pakistan waned to do more. The UK had already provided extensive assistance to the Pakistani services. “But, we will urgently consider what more can be done to further enhance our joint work,” she added.

She said that only agencies could not do it all. She called upon the people of Pakistan and the UK to play their part by rejecting the terrorists’ ideology and isolating those who supported them or justified violence in the name of Islam.

“Let it be clear that extremism had no place in Islam and there is nothing Islamic about extremism which is the opposite of everything; Islam stands for peace, tolerance and obedience to God.”

After Christianity, Islam is the largest faith community in the UK, she said, adding that some 1.6 million people had declared themselves Muslims in the 2002 census, and that figure might now be as high as two million.

“Besides playing their active roles in British politics, armed forces, policing, various professions and arts and sports, there are an estimated 10,000 Muslims millionaires in Britain. The Muslim community as a whole is estimated to contribute 3.1 billion pounds per year to the British economy.”

She said the UK government was supporting development projects in tribal areas and was working with the Pakistani government to address the underlying economic and social issues in Pakistan.

Earlier, Ms Smith called on Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani.

The premier reiterated Pakistan’s resolve to adopt a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of terrorism and extremism. He said the new government would adopt both short- and long-term measures to confront these challenges because Pakistan itself was a victim of this menace.

He said Pakistan would welcome British assistance in the development of tribal areas. The government, Mr Gilani said, would focus on improving socio-economic conditions, reducing poverty and generating job opportunities for the people of areas bordering Afghanistan.

The prime minister also underlined the need for regulating Madressahs and equipping them with the modern education system so that their students could get better jobs and contribute to economic uplift.

He said his government would pursue friendly relations with all its neighbours as Pakistan considered that a prosperous Afghanistan was in its national interest.

He said Pakistan wanted resolution of all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, with India through dialogue.

Ms Smith extended her government’s full support to the new government and expressed confidence for an early return of Pakistan to the Commonwealth.