–Spokesman says Pakistan-US cooperation in fighting terrorism directly served US national security interests
–Says impact of US’s decision in pursuit of common objectives would emerge more clearly in due course
ISLAMABAD: A day after the Trump administration announced the suspension of its entire security assistance to Pakistan, the Foreign Office (FO) said that Washington should appreciate the fact that Pakistan had fought the war against terrorism largely from its own resources, costing the country over $120 billion in 15 years.
In a statement, FO Spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal said that Pakistani officials were engaged with the US administration on the issue of security cooperation and were awaiting further details.
US State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert on Thursday said that the cut-off was not permanent and only affects military assistance. The plan to cut security assistance for Pakistan comes as the Trump administration seeks more cooperation from Islamabad as part of its strategy in Afghanistan, added Nauert.
In his statement, Dr Faisal said that the impact of the US’s decision in pursuit of common objectives would emerge more clearly in due course.
“However, it needs to be appreciated that Pakistan has fought the war against terrorism largely from its own resources which have cost the country over $120 billion in 15 years,” he stated.
“We are determined to continue to do all that it takes to secure the lives of our citizens and achieve broader stability in the region.”
The statement added that the Pakistan-US cooperation in fighting terrorism directly served the US national security interests as well as the larger interests of the international community.
“Through a series of major counterterrorism operations, Pakistan cleared all these areas, resulting in the elimination of organised terrorist presence, leading to a significant improvement in security in Pakistan.”
The statement also said that Pakistan is awaiting reciprocal actions from the Afghan side “in terms of clearance of vast stretches of ungoverned spaces on the Afghan side, bilateral border management, repatriation of Afghan refugees, controlling the poppy cultivation, drug trafficking, and initiating Afghan-led and owned political reconciliation in Afghanistan.”
‘PAKISTAN NEEDS TO TAKE DECISIVE ACTION’:
The Trump administration had announced on Thursday that its security assistance to Pakistan would be suspended until “the country proves its commitment to fight all terrorist groups operating in the region”.
State Department spokesperson Nauert said that the suspension would remain in effect until Pakistan “takes decisive action” against groups such as the Taliban that are “destabilising the region and targeting US personnel”. Although Pakistan “certainly has been helpful in some instances,” she had said, “they are not taking steps they need to take to fight terrorists.”
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday placed Islamabad on a special watch list for severe violations of religious freedom. An announcement by the State Department had said that for the first time, it has created a ‘Special Watch List’ for countries that “engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom but may not rise to the level of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC).
Pakistan, however, is not on the list of 10 nations that violate religious freedom in a “systematic, ongoing, egregious” manner. That 10-state list includes Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The suffering of the ties between Pakistan and United States started when President Trump on January 1, 2018, accused Islamabad of being a “liar”. The tweet invited a series of sharp responses from the Pakistani leadership.
“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,” read the tweet by Trump.
The tweets came a few days after the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said that Pakistan had done enough and it was time for the United States and Afghanistan “to do more”. The ISPR chief was referring to the accusations made by the US and Afghanistan regarding the presence of militant bases in Pakistan.
The remarks made by the ISPR chief in December were considered the strongest-ever reaction from Islamabad since Washington began referring to the possibility of a unilateral action.
