London, Apr 10: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown telephoned President Asif Ali Zardari late on Thursday after the arrest of 10 Pakistani-born nationals on student visas and one UK-born British national on charges of terrorism, to warn him to do more to root out terrorist elements in Pakistan.

This is the first time Pakistanis on student visas have been arrested on such serious charges. Sources said that the arrests of 12 men in the north west of England on Wednesday were linked to a suspected plan to launch a devastating attack this weekend.

According to sources, two leaders exchanged views pertaining to mutual cooperation to counter terrorism besides discussing the over all law and order situation in the region.

Brown described the alleged plot as “very big,” and said investigators were looking at links with Pakistan.

“We know that there are links between terrorists in Britain and terrorists in Pakistan... Pakistan has got to do more to root out the terrorist elements,” The Prime Minister said.

“We know that there are links between terrorists in Britain and terrorists in Pakistan. That is an important issue for us to follow through and that’s why I will be talking to President Zardari about what Pakistan can do to help us in the future,” Brown said.

All but one of the men arrested were Pakistani nationals who came to Britain on student visas. This suggested a possible new tactic by al-Qaeda, which had previously used British-based extremists who travelled to Pakistan for training. (ANI)