Tory leader not to support Burqa ban

LONDON: Pakistan and Afghanistan will be the single-most important foreign policy commitment of an incoming Conservative government, says David Cameron, who is leading the 6th May election race in Britain with almost 8 points lead.

In an exclusive interview, the Tory leader said if he forms the government in a monthís time, Pakistan will find a strong partner committed to the beleaguered nationís stability and prosperity.

David Cameron told The News that once in power, the Tories will continue to assist the Government of Pakistan in education, healthcare and employment, particularly in areas that have been affected by the recent campaign against insurgents.

After he became the Conservative Leader, Cameron spent two days with a British-Pakistani Muslim family, the Rehmans, in Birmingham. He says the experience strengthened his conviction about the right way to build a more cohesive Britain.

Cameron promises that he will take concrete measures to promote integration of various communities in the mainstream and it will not be one of those tactics already applied by the Labour. He will start by tackling the poison of racism and bigotry.

“The truth is that your skin colour still unjustly affects the patterns of your life ñ from whether you are born in poverty to how you do at school; from being a victim of crime to not getting a job. Itís wrong and it needs to change.”

Promoting community interaction and bringing people together is a must and he has proposed to create a National Citizen Service programme for 16-year olds to give them a chance to mix with people from different backgrounds.

He promises that if his party wins the election on 6th may, he will review all counter-terrorism legislation to make sure there is the right balance between security and our civil liberties.

“Under Tories, there will be more Muslim men and women at the top of Britainís businesses. It means more Muslim soldiers in the highest levels of command in our Army. It means getting many, many more Muslims into our Parliament.”

He held up Pakistani-origin boxer Amir Khan and business mogul Sir Anwar Pervez as the role models who inspire everyone. “If I become prime minister, I am determined to help and encourage and promote more role models so that together we can build a country open to the talents of everyone.”

Muslims in Britain have been under attack in many forms since the 9/11 and 7/7 tragedies. Far-right groups, British National Party, National Front and a new group English Defence League (EDF) have made the Muslims target of their hate campaign.

Cameron says the standoffs between Muslim communities and the EDF are “extremely worrying”. He promises that he will sort out these problems by changing the way the communities are policed, with more community beat meetings, less paperwork, and much more time for police to spend on patrol and dealing with hate crimes.

David Cameron said that he will not support a ban on the Burqa, as suggested by some of his party leaders. When reminded that his party had opposed legislation intended to outlaw incitement to religious hatred, Cameron said he opposed the law just because he thought it will curtail free speech and went too far.