Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said that Washington assess its efficacy in the War on Terror in Afghanistan instead of making Pakistan a scapegoat for its failures.
PM Khan responded to Trump's statements, saying that Islamabad had decided to "participate in the US War on Terror" although no Pakistani was involved in the 9/11 attacks.
3. Our tribal areas were devastated & millions of ppl uprooted from their homes. The war drastically impacted lives of ordinary Pakistanis. 4. Pak continues to provide free lines of ground & air communications(GLOCs/ALOCs).Can Mr Trump name another ally that gave such sacrifices?
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 19, 2018
“Instead of making Pakistan a scapegoat for their failures, the US should do a serious assessment of why, despite 140000 NATO troops plus 250,000 Afghan troops & reportedly $1 trillion spent on war in Afghanistan, the Taliban today are stronger than before,” Khan said in a series of tweets.
Instead of making Pakistan a scapegoat for their failures, the US should do a serious assessment of why, despite 140000 NATO troops plus 250,000 Afghan troops & reportedly $1 trillion spent on war in Afghanistan, the Taliban today are stronger than before.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 19, 2018
Calling Trump's tirade a lesson for Pakistani leaders "who kept appeasing the US esp after 9/11", the minister added: "Whether China or Iran, US policies of containment and isolation do not coincide with Pakistan's strategic interests."
Record needs to be put straight on Mr Trump's tirade against Pakistan: 1. No Pakistani was involved in 9/11 but Pak decided to participate in US War on Terror. 2. Pakistan suffered 75,000 casualties in this war & over $123 bn was lost to economy. US "aid" was a miniscule $20 bn.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 19, 2018
While speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Trump had attempted to justify his administration's decision at the start of 2018 to pull "military aid" to Pakistan by linking it to Osama bin Laden being found in Pakistan in 2011. "They [Pakistan] don’t do a damn thing for us," the US president had said.
Speaking of the compound in Abbottabad where bin Laden was found in 2011, Trump said the bin Ladens had been "living in Pakistan right next to the military academy, everybody in Pakistan knew he was there."
However, contrary to Trump's insinuations, former US president Barack Obama, the raid was carried out, had said last year: "We had no evidence that Pakistan was aware of his presence — that is something that we looked at."
Trump also added that the US used to give Pakistan $1.3 billion a year, but doesn't anymore. "I ended it because they don't do anything for us."
