British Prime Minister David Cameron has called for a fresh start in fraught ties with Pakistan, promising investment, aid and security cooperation. He also urged Pakistan and India to look beyond cricket diplomacy and embrace their common interests while promising his country would not take sides.

In his address at Comsats University watched through video link across the country, Cameron moved to draw a line under the row sparked during a visit to India in July last, when he had said Islamabad could not be allowed to ‘look both ways’, promoting the export of terror while publicly working for stability in the region.

“Let’s today make a fresh start in our relationship,” he said adding that “Let’s clear up misunderstandings of the past, work through the tensions of the present and look together to the opportunities of the future.”

Making case for normalisation of ties between Pakistan and India, Cameron described the sight of the two premiers sitting next to each other to watch the cricket World Cup semifinal last week at Mohali as a “tremendous sign of hope for the future”.

“I believe the time is ripe for your countries to look even further beyond what divides you and embrace what unites you,” Cameron said.

“Two democracies, with young, ambitious populations and all the potential in the world - and you live side by side. The opportunities for mutual progress are simply enormous. The opportunity to trade and grow,” he said.

However, he promised that his government would not take sides. “There have been accusations that in the past, countries in this region have been played off one against the other by the West. I am clear - this whole approach of choosing sides is wrong,” he said.

Cameron added: “India is very important to the UK. Pakistan is important to us too. We don’t have to choose between a strong relationship with either Pakistan or India - we want a strong relationship with both.”

The British leader, who launched an enhanced strategic dialogue at a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart on Tuesday, addressed university students in Islamabad during his whirlwind tour. He also met President Asif Zardari before flying to London.

The strategic dialogue also involved the head of British spy agency MI6, John Sawers, and its military chief David Richards, as well as Pakistan’s army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI head Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha.

Tokyo/Fukushima, April 6
Heroic Japanese workers today plugged a 12-inch crack leaking highly toxic water into sea from a concrete pit at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, but were confronted with a new problem of gas build-up at one of the six reactors which may cause another hydrogen blast.

The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), said the leak of radioactive water from a seaside pit located near the No.2 reactor, which was detected on Saturday last, was stopped at 5.38 am local time after workers injected some 6,000 liters of chemical agents, including “water glass” or sodium silicate.

TEPCO also prepared to inject nitrogen into the No.1 reactor’s containment vessel where hydrogen gas was building up.

Tripoli/Washington, April 6
Angry rebels today deprecated NATO for “slackening” the pace of its military campaign, which faced fresh challenges with Muammar Gaddafi’s troops changing tactics by using human shields to thwart air strikes.

NATO officials denied any slowdown of its operations in Libya but conceded that Gaddafi’s forces were adopting “hit and hide” strategy and also moving in civilian vehicles to prevent the coalition from identifying targets.

The rebels who faced heavy pounding from Gaddafi’s forces in Misurata, about 200 km east of Tripoli, said if NATO keeps waiting to act, “there will be nothing left to protect”.

“Everyday, civilians are dying in Misurata. NATO is doing nothing,” said rebel leader Abdelfatah Yunis.

“If NATO waits for another week, it will be a crime that NATO will have to carry,” Al Jazeera quoted him as saying. “We will do everything to protect the civilians of Misurata,” NATO spokesperson Carmen Romero said in Brussels.

As part of these efforts, NATO said it would form a “sea bridge” to Misurata to rush aid and supplies after it was cut off by Gaddafi’s forces.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has ruled out sending ground troops to Libya and reiterated that any change in the leadership would be determined by the people of the country and not by any external forces.

“The President from the very outset of this operation had made clear that we were going to conduct this without putting US military boots on the ground. That has been the starting point. It remains the guiding principle here,” Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters in Washington. — PTI

Milan, April 6
The trial of Premier Silvio Berlusconi on charges he paid for sex with an underage prostitute, then tried to use his influence to cover it up was adjourned shortly after it opened in Milan today.

Berlusconi did not attend the hearing, which lasted seven minutes and was devoted to formalities. The trial was adjourned to May 31. The premier was holding a ministerial meeting in Rome to discuss Libya. He has denied wrongdoing.

The brief session was held under tight security, with some 100 police patrolling the courthouse in downtown Milan. TV crews and other media came from around the world for the opening session.

Unlike Berlusconi's other trials, the one that opened today puts the premier's personal life under scrutiny, and a conviction could end his political career.

Prosecutors allege Berlusconi paid Moroccan girl Karima el-Mahroug, also known as Ruby and who was 17-year-old at the time, for sex at his villa, then called police to have her released from custody when she was picked up for theft out of concern that she would reveal their relationship.

Both the 74-year-old premier and Ruby, who has turned 18 in the meantime, have denied having sex. — AP