From Deseret News archives:

Pakistani cancels trip to Utah

Ambassador was to meet LDS leaders, speak at BYU and U.

Published: Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007 12:07 a.m. MST
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"None of their information is correct," Durrani told the Diplomat, a monthly newspaper for the diplomatic community. "We are more than victims of terrorism, but there are people who don't believe us. Pakistan has become a fall guy for all the bad things happening in the neighborhood."

Durrani said Pakistan has 120,000 troops deployed fighting the war on terror. He also claimed the Pakistani military had scored the most hits on Taliban and al-Qaida targets while suffering the highest number of casualties in the fight against terrorism.

The Iraq war drew resources away from the attempt to capture Osama bin Laden and defeat al-Qaida, he said: "If the number of troops and the focus of the U.S. had continued to be the same, the al-Qaida issue may have been resolved by today. But what happened? The focus shifted to Iraq big-time. ... This was a rebirth for al-Qaida. They got new recruits and motivation. I think the war in Iraq gave a boost to al-Qaida."

BYU has made news consistently over the past five years with its global awareness and ambassadorial insights lecture series. Hundreds of students have turned out for each of the most noteworthy visits, including those by ambassadors from Saudi Arabia, Israel, Kuwait and France.

Ambassadors from Britain, Korea and Australia are among the 10 ambassadors who have visited so far this year.


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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com

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Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. Mahmud Ali Durrani is staying in Washington to deal with crisis.

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