ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has categorically stated that tweets by US President Donald Trump do not constitute official policy of Washington.
In an interview with an American newspaper, the premier said official policy should come through an official document or an official meeting.
There has a rupture in ties between Pakistan and the US since Trump’s “deceit and lies” tweet. In his first tweet of 2018, he had said: “the United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid . . . and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit.”
Following the tweet, the US suspended military assistance estimated at up to $2 billion.
Abbasi said Pakistan had been supporting the US effort in Afghanistan since long. “Even today, Pakistan is fighting the largest war on terror in the world. We have 200, 000 troops fighting a war against terror today on the western border. We have lost 6, 500 troops.”
The premier said Pakistan’s armed forces defeated the same enemy the rest of the world had failed to defeat in Afghanistan with our own resources.
Commenting on US military assistance, he said security assistance was minimal, adding that Pakistan bought some F-16 fighters, but it did not receive.
“All that has done is degrade our ability to fight the terrorists,” Abbasi said. “On the ground, the reality is that in the last year, 29 suicide bombers crossed over from Afghanistan into Pakistan and attacked our installations.”
When asked if he had a response to Trump tweet, he said the ground realities did not support what President Trump was saying. “We are committed to fighting the war against terror.”
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