Protests greet Pakistan president

Protesters gather in Birmingham during a visit by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari
12 April 2012

Pakistan's president has faced protests as he told a rally of supporters in the UK that the diplomatic "problem" with the British Government had been resolved.

Asif Ali Zardari's comments followed a row sparked by Prime Minister David Cameron's outspoken criticism of Pakistan for promoting terrorism.

Addressing an audience of more than 1,000 in Birmingham, Mr Zadari said: "We have a good relationship with the British government and the problem has been resolved with the help of British Pakistani MPs."

The rally, at the International Conference Centre, was marked by frequent eruptions of loud chanting, with many crying: "Long live Benazir Bhutto." Bhutto, Mr Zardari's late wife, was assassinated in 2007.

But outside the centre about 100 protesters held signs, some of which read: "USA. out of Pakistan and Afghanistan".

"Too many Pakistani civilians have lost their lives because of this foreign-led war," protester Iqbal Najid, 32 said.

Other banners complained that Mr Zardari continued his foreign trip while people were dying in the terrible floods at home in Pakistan.

One man was escorted out of the venue by police after throwing his shoes at the president in a gesture of protest.

The president has come under sustained attack for continuing with a week-long European tour while his country struggles to cope with devastating floods at home, which have claimed around 1,500 lives and affected up to 12 million people.

He was greeted with a standing ovation, chanting and flag-waving when he took to the stage, but a number of audience members walked out during his speech. Wearing a rosette bearing a picture of his late wife, Mr Zardari said he had saved Pakistan from dividing after her death.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in