Pakistan-Afghanistan map
The U.S.-Pakistan relations headed into 2018 with more strains as President Donald Trump alleged that Islamabad has not reciprocated the United States’ assistance with adequate cooperation in the fight against terror.
In a tweet, Trump said Washington had “foolishly given Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid over the last 15 years”, but that Pakistan had given “safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help”. He also alleged that Islamabad had been deceitful in its relationship with the United States.
“No more,” Trump added.
Reacting to Trump’s allegations, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said the foreign ministry would soon come up with a reply that would clearly show what is reality and what is fiction.
The US president’s latest volley of allegations came in the wake of tense meetings between senior officials of the two countries that often use leverage in the relationship.
The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 1, 2018
The relationship has been particularly strained since the Trump Administration unveiled a new Afghan policy that seeks to give India – Pakistan’s eastern rival – a much bigger role in Afghanistan to Pakistan’s west.
Both experts have long argued that both countries need each other and any thought of a stable and peaceful Afghanistan without improved U.S.-Pakistan ties would be unrealistic.
According to a recent report in The New York Times, the U.S. is considering halting aid to Pakistan.
American officials have also indicated in recent months that they would be prepared to go for unilateral actions against terrorist hideouts on Pakistani soil.
Islamabad rejects the allegations and cites its series of actions that have flushed out terrorists from its tribal areas. Pakistan also cites its sacrifices and role in the fight against terror since 2001.
Washington has been demanding Islamabad to go after the Haqqani network of militants that, it says, are supporting the Afghan Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.
US Vice President Mike Pence noted during a trip to Afghanistan in December 2017 that President Trump had “put Pakistan on notice.”
In response, Pakistan Amry’s spokesman, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, said the money that Pakistan received from the US was “reimbursement for support we gave to the coalition for its fight against Al Qaeda.”
“Had we not supported the US and Afghanistan, they would never have been able to defeat Al Qaeda,” he had said.
“The armed forces are working with friends and want to continue doing so, but there can be no compromise on our national honour. We do not want a conflict with our friends, but will ensure the security of Pakistan,” the army spokesman said.
Pakistan also points out that Afghanistan needs to put its house in terms of governance order and deal with massive problems of opium cultivation that fuels militancy as well as ethnic frictions in Kabul.
