PAKISTAN: War of words erupts between US and Pakistan

Pakistan has hit back after accusations of deception and providing a safe haven for “terrorists”, levelled by US President Donald Trump via Twitter. In his first tweet of the year on Monday, Trump threatened to cut aid to Pakistan for allegedly lying to the US and offering “little help” in hunting “terrorists” in Afghanistan. “The […]

Pakistan has hit back after accusations of deception and providing a safe haven for “terrorists”, levelled by US President Donald Trump via Twitter. In his first tweet of the year on Monday, Trump threatened to cut aid to Pakistan for allegedly lying to the US and offering “little help” in hunting “terrorists” in Afghanistan.

“The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies and deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools,” Trump said.

“They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!” In response, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Pakistan’s prime minister, called a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC), comprising the army chief, naval and air heads, intelligence chiefs and other ministers, on Tuesday to discuss the future course of action.

Following the meeting, the NSC expressed its “deep disappointment” over Trump’s comments. It said in a statement that recent remarks by the US leadership “were completely incomprehensible as they contradicted facts manifestly, struck with great insensitivity at the trust between two nations built over generations, and negated the decades of sacrifices made by the Pakistani nation”.