Labour leader for fair vote in Pakistan

LONDON: Leader of the UK Labour Party Ed Miliband has said it is highly important that the upcoming elections in Pakistan are “free and fair”.
In an exclusive interview with Geo TV and Jang Newspapers, the opposition leader said that his party values “the importance of our relationship with Pakistan and the role of British Pakistanis who play such an important role in Britain. They bring diversity to this country and we want to celebrate the role of Pakistani communities”.
Ed Miliband spoke as he outlined his plans for a “comprehensive strategy” to deal with the pressures of a multi-ethnic society, insisting that Britain must “work at” becoming a more integrated society.
The opposition leader in the British parliament said that Pakistanis have “incredibly proud record of integrating in Britain and their visibility in every walk of life speaks itself”. He added: “What needs to happen is that the people of Pakistani origin feel that they have the opportunity to advance in Britain and doors are open for them and not closed. That’s a priority for my party.”
When asked if Britain had been duped into an unwinnable war in Afghanistan, Miliband said that Britain was in Afghanistan to help prevent the country falling into the hands of terrorists. However, he agreed that it was right Britain withdrew its troops from Afghanistan. “British troops are in Afghanistan for one reason and only reason alone and that is to prevent Afghanistan from going into a situation where the country becomes a haven for terrorists and that’s in the interest of Pakistan, the region and the British pubic. We need to do everything to leave behind a stable Afghanistan and that’s in the interest of Pakistan. We are working with Pakistan to make this happen, that’s the top priority of this government and I support our government in doing that.”
Miliband said that his party will work towards ensuring that more people of Pakistani origin and other ethnic backgrounds are represented in the parliament, local authorities and elsewhere.
He said the fact that Sadiq Khan MP, the Shadow Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, was a leading member of his team show that as Labour leader he is determined to improve the representation in his party.
He said the latest census shows that Britain is changing and “we need to celebrate that and in order for that to reflect, we need to have more diversity”.
When asked if he will take steps to stamp out racism culture, sometime aimed at the people of Pakistan when their visa applications are processed, Miliband said, “We need fairness in all of the regimes around visas and borders. I am all for firmness but firmness with fairness is essential.”
Miliband accepted that there are concerns about the “pace of change” in British life due to immigration, particularly in specific areas which have witnessed high numbers of new arrivals.
But he told The News that people don’t have to leave their culture and religion. He said people can integrate but part of it is to continue having “a large identity from the country you come from”.
Miliband rounded on his own last government and said that the last Labour government made mistakes on immigration. He said the previous Labour administrations were “overly optimistic” in assuming that integration would happen by itself and people from different racial backgrounds “would learn to get on together... automatically”, he said.