Yousaf Raza Gilani, the normally conciliatory premier, used a speech to make the highest level response from Islamabad so far to Cameron's comments during his trip to India. Reports suggest that an official from the British high commission in Islamabad, possibly the deputy chief of mission, will be summoned tomorrow by Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs for a formal dressing down.
Gilani's intervention follows the abrupt cancellation by Pakistan's spy chief, General Shuja Pasha, of a planned visit to the UK for talks with his British counter-terrorism counterparts.
Co-operation from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, headed by Pasha – which was accused of aiding the Taliban in the Afghan war logs published last week by WikiLeaks – had previously been presented as being crucial to stopping numerous terrorist plots aimed against Britain.
There are fears that a long-planned visit to the UK this week by Pakistan's president, Asif Zardari, could be overshadowed by growing anger at Cameron's remarks among the one million people of Pakistani origin living in Britain. Media outlets and opposition politicians in Pakistan are urging the president to cancel the trip, while demonstrators burnt an effigy of the prime minister on the streets of Karachi.
There is particular anger, shown by Pakistanis yesterday in burning an effigy of the prime minister, that Cameron made the comments on a trip to India.
The Guardian
