LONDON // While Pakistan's relations with Washington remain rocky, its prime minister painted a positive picture yesterday of his country's ties with Britain, America's most obedient ally.
Stressing Pakistan's commitment to fighting terrorism and extremism, just days after stinging criticism from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Yusuf Raza Gilani met his UK counterpart, David Cameron, at Downing Street.
After indicating earlier this week that he was keen to resolve all outstanding issues with India, Mr Gilani and a clutch of Pakistani ministers were in Britain on a five-day official visit to review the Enhanced Strategic Dialogue agreed between the two nations when Mr Cameron visited Islamabad just over a year ago.
Describing relations with Britain as "excellent", Mr Gilani embarked on talks with Mr Cameron yesterday focused on security, education, health and cultural cooperation.
In an interview in yesterday's Guardian newspaper, Mr Gilani insisted that his nation had not been "complicit" in sheltering Osama bin Laden and blamed the fact that Al Qaeda's former leader had remained hidden in Pakistan for so long on a "universal failure" by intelligence services.
Mr Gilani admitted recent relations with the Obama administration had not been "too normal" since bin Laden was assassinated in May last year and 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a Nato air strike in November.
But he said the CIA and ISI were still working together in an attempt to eliminate terrorist leaders.
Mr Gilani met UK political leaders at a reception in parliament on Wednesday but a planned conference with community groups in Birmingham had to be cancelled over security concerns arising from friction with his Pakistan Peoples Party.
He told the gathering at the House of Commons that combating terrorism was in Pakistan's national interest but said: "We have also repeatedly said that we would not allow our territory to be used for any kind of attacks on other countries and we expect that the soil of other countries would not be used against Pakistan."
Mr Gilani also reiterated his determination to remain as premier despite being convicted of contempt last month by Pakistan's Supreme Court for failing to reopen corruption charges against former president, Asif Ali Zardari.
dsapsted@thenational.ae
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
How to come clean about financial infidelity
- Be honest and transparent: It is always better to own up than be found out. Tell your partner everything they want to know. Show remorse. Inform them of the extent of the situation so they know what they are dealing with.
- Work on yourself: Be honest with yourself and your partner and figure out why you did it. Don’t be ashamed to ask for professional help.
- Give it time: Like any breach of trust, it requires time to rebuild. So be consistent, communicate often and be patient with your partner and yourself.
- Discuss your financial situation regularly: Ensure your spouse is involved in financial matters and decisions. Your ability to consistently follow through with what you say you are going to do when it comes to money can make all the difference in your partner’s willingness to trust you again.
- Work on a plan to resolve the problem together: If there is a lot of debt, for example, create a budget and financial plan together and ensure your partner is fully informed, involved and supported.
Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills