LONDON (APP) - Terming the UK and Pakistan as close and historic allies, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Transport Minister Sadiq Khan in their Op Ed (opinion editorial) article have said that the British government will continue to work closely with Islamabad to help support economic growth and fight inequality and poverty and to counter terrorism and radicalisation. The UK and Pakistan are close and historic allies. With around one million British citizens of Pakistani heritage and $2 billion worth of trade flowing between our two countries each year, a good relationship with Pakistan is essential, they said. Miliband is the Labour MP for South Shields, northeast England, while Sadiq Khan is Labour MP for Tooting, southwest London and both are re-contesting the May 6 national polls. The UK has been working closely with Pakistan to tackle poverty. Our support in Pakistan, for example, has helped to save the lives of 200,000 children, has stopped 800,000 children becoming malnourished and provided access to clean drinking water and proper sanitation for over 1.47 million people. We are also increasing our support to the education sector to 250 million pounds sterling over the next five years, which will help to get more children into school, improve teaching and provide young people with skills for employment, they wrote. The British ministers noted that despite the progress made, however, great challenges remain. One in ten children die before their fifth birthday and half of the adult population are still unable to read or write. For that reason the UK is providing pounds sterling 665m of assistance to Pakistan from 2009 to 2013. By 2011, it will be the UKs second largest development programme worldwide, Miliband and Khan wrote. On the question of terrorism, they stated that it remained a critical element of their work in Pakistan to counter terrorism and radicalisation. To counter the shared threat the UK and Pakistan are working closely on operational matters and on tackling the process and the causes of radicalisation. The London Afghanistan Conference earlier this year emphasised the need for enriched regional co-operation to achieve lasting peace, stability and democracy in the region. In their message for the thriving communities of Pakistani descent in the UK, they pledged that Labour Party would continue to promote values they share in common. A Labour government will seek to give people power over their lives and guarantee their security. That is why we have introduced a neighbourhood police team in every community and are committed that that team spends at least 80 per cent of its time on the beat in your community. And that is why we have provided a guarantee of a job or training place for any 18-24 year old that has been unemployed for over six months. They called upon the Pakistani Diaspora to use their vote on May 6 and make their choice between Britain building a fairer future for all at home and abroad through leadership on the world stage or pursuing a policy of isolation as being advocated by the Tory party.