Falling pound forces Britain to cut back anti-terror programme in Pak

London, Jan.21 (ANI): The decreasing value of the pound has forced Britain to cut back its counter-terrorism programme being run in Pakistan.

"Programmes in counter-terrorism and radicalisation in Pakistan had been cut as the Foreign Office was hit by losses of 110 million pounds (127 million euros, 180 million dollars)," British Foreign Minister Baroness Kinnock said.

"As a result of exchange rate movements, the (Foreign Office) faces a shortfall in 2009-10 of an estimated 110 million pounds," Kinnock added.

The disclosure came just hours after Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that the 'crucible of terrorism' on the Afghan-Pakistan border remained the 'number one' security threat to the West.

Meanwhile, the government's decision to cut back the anti-terror programmes has drawn flak from the main opposition Conservative Party in Britain.

"Pakistan has been identified as one of the major sources of the terrorist threat to this country. Cutting (Foreign Office) expenditure on counter-terrorism programmes in Pakistan because of the movement of exchange rates is clearly not the way to run an effective foreign policy," The News quoted foreign affairs spokesman William Hague, as saying. (ANI)