Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Wednesday reminded the United States of the “services” Islamabad had rendered in Washington’s “war on terror”. Asif’s attack on Washington came after US President Donald Trump claimed that the country had “foolishly” provided $33 billion (Rs 2.10 lakh crore) in aid to Pakistan in return for “nothing but lies and deceit”.
“History teaches us not to blindly trust the US,” Asif said on Twitter. “You carried 57,800 attacks on Afghanistan from our bases. Your forces were supplied arms and explosives through our soil, thousands of our civilians and soldiers became victims of the war initiated by you [in Afghanistan],” the foreign minister added.
“We considered your enemy as our own,” Asif said. “We filled up Guantanamo Bay, and we served you with such an enthusiasm that we left our country with load shedding and gas shortage.”
The Pakistan foreign minister also blamed former President Pervez Musharraf without naming him. “You [the US] have asked what did we do? A dictator surrendered before the US on a single phone call. Our country witnessed the worst bloodbath [over the last 15 years].”
Asif said Islamabad had tried to please Washington even at the cost of Pakistan’s economy, and provided the US with “tens of thousands” of visas.
“Our forces are fighting in an exemplary manner, and there is an unending saga of sacrifices,” the minister added. “We feel sorry as you [the US] are not happy but we will not compromise on our prestige anymore.”
Pakistan had summoned US Ambassador to Islamabad David Hale after Trump’s outburst, and China had defended Islamabad. Beijing hailed Pakistan’s “tremendous efforts and sacrifices” in the fight against terrorism and asked other countries to recognise these contributions.
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