British Foreign Secy says strong evidence of Al Qaeda's presence in Pak tribal areas

Islamabad, Apr 22 : British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that there was "strong evidence" of Al Qaeda operatives' presence in the tribal Areas along the Pak-Afghan border.

Rejecting the idea of unilateral action against Al Qaeda, he said that Pakistan, Afghanistan and NATO forces should together fight against the terrorist organization.

"The evidence shows that Al Qaeda is present there (along the Pak-Afghan border)," the Daily Times quoted Miliband as saying while addressing a joint press conference at the Foreign Office with his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

Miliband said he backed Pakistan's "multi-pronged" strategy to deal with militancy through political and economic means as well as security measures. However, he added, "Reconciliation does not mean creating safe space for terrorists."

Earlier on Monday, Miliband held discussions with Qureshi, during which the two foreign secretaries reviewed all aspects of relations between the two countries.

ANI