Islamabad:
Pakistan’s Opposition leader Imran Khan on Wednesday said an “ignorant and ungrateful” US President Donald Trump has humiliated the country by accusing Islamabad of giving nothing to America but lies and deceit in return for its aid worth USD 33 billion over the last 15 years.
In a series of tweets, the cricketer-turned-politician said Pakistan was being “blamed” for the US’ failures in the so-called “War on Terror” in Afghanistan.
In his strongest attack against Pakistan yet, Trump in his first tweet of the year on New Year’s Day had accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but “lies and deceit” and providing “safe haven” to terrorists in return for USD 33 billion aid over the last 15 years, thinking of American leaders as “fools”.
A day later, the White House said that an already-delayed USD 255 million military aid to Pakistan had been blocked, the fate of which will depend on Islamabad’s response to terrorism on its soil.
“And now Pakistan (is) being blamed for US failures in Afghanistan by an ignorant and ungrateful Donald Trump,” Khan tweeted.
He said that from the beginning, he was opposed to Pakistan becoming part of the US-led so-called “war on terror”.
Khan had been urging the Pakistan government to withdraw from the war on terror and hold talks with Taliban.
“Now, after suffering 70k dead, over USD 100 bn loss to economy, when we had nothing to do with 9/11, constant ‘do more’ US taunts & after nation has been humiliated by Trump, GoP (govt of Pakistan) saying the same,” he tweeted.
Khan further said that the lesson to be learnt by Pakistan is never to be used by others for short term paltry financial benefits ever again.
“Our society became radicalised and polarised as we helped CIA create jihadi groups; then, a decade later, we tried to eliminate them as terrorists on US orders,” he said in another tweet.
