Former British PM calls Pakistan ‘epicentre of terrorism’
LONDON: Memoirs by out-of-office leaders may have limited use given their essentially narcissistic nature, but the latest in this genre by former British prime minister Gordon Brown will gladden hearts in New Delhi - he repeats the line verbatim, that Pakistan is the “epicentre of terrorism”.
As one of the two founders of New Labour - the other being Tony Blair - Brown was at the centre of it all for over a decade, first as chancellor (1997-2007) and then as prime minister (2007-2010). His memoir, My Life, Our Times, was out this week to mixed reviews.
Brown’s experience of being treated by Indian-origin eye surgeon Hector Chawla figures prominently in it, so does his uneasy relationship with Blair, his handling of the 2008 financial crisis, and his rather belated discovery that Britain was misled into the 2003 Iraq war.
Pakistan figures in his account of the days immediately after the 9/11 terror attacks, the challenges he faced in Britain’s involvement in Afghanistan as prime minister, and his contemporary assessment of the situation in the troubled country.
“As I write, the Taliban controls half of Afghanistan and, according to claims from American military intelligence, it is now being armed by Russia. Although massively weakened by drone attacks, al-Qaeda still hides in the mountains,” he writes.
“Two ISIS groups and the Haqqani Network are now mounting regular bombings and attacks. Pakistan remains weak and at the epicentre of terrorism. The reflex response is as before – Washington sending in more troops.”
In Brown’s accounts of previous times, the “epicentre of terrorism” referred to the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, but his more recent assessment sees Pakistan itself as the “epicentre”.
Brown also mentions interacting with former prime minister Manmohan Singh at global forums, particularly in September 2008, when he sought “American buy-in” for his plan for global economic recovery.
First elected to the House of Commons in 1983, Brown acknowledges the support of industrialist Swraj Paul in his work at the time as member of the shadow trade and industry team of then Labour leader John Smith.