REPRISALS for the terrorist attacks in America should not result in thousands of other innocent people suffering, Burnley MP Peter Pike told members of the Pakistan Welfare Association in Nelson.

They had to condemn extremists of whatever cause and make it clear that terrorism in any form was not the right way to fight a cause.

Those responsible had to be tracked down and dealt with but it was essential that reprisals were not taken which resulted in innocent people suffering.

Mr Pike added: "Reprisals which involve further reprisals present a danger of escalation too appalling to contemplate.

"We only need to look at the tragedy in the Middle East to see what happened there. That is a problem we need to resolve and we must try to ensure Israel and Palestine go back to the position they were in 18 months ago when a solution, albeit a complex one, was within reach."

On Kashmir, Mr Pike said both sides needed to be given the opportunity to decide their future. Justice for Kashmir was long overdue and must not be forgotten.

Pakistan needed support to secure a return to democracy. He added: "Friends give help in time of difficulty and do not cut off people in times of disagreements. Britain is a friend of Pakistan. We do have a key role to play and we must play it."

On recent racial disturbances in Burnley, Mr Pike said he believed there were key basic core problems such as 3,500 empty houses, education and unemployment.

A minority of people were able to use those problems in a racist way, along with misinformation on public spending and other issues.

He added: "We have to tackle and condemn racism wherever it exists and the basic core problems.

"This means some difficult decisions for both the Borough Council and to a lesser degree the County Council.

"Over and above all that, however, only with government backing and more resources from national level can we see real progress."