–Spokesman says Pakistan welcomes talks between US and Afghan Taliban
–Warns Indian army chief to think before he speaks against Pakistan
–Afghanistan yet to share any information with Pakistan regarding Peshawar Rural SP Tahir Dawar’s murder
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday said that Pakistan responded to US President Donald Trump’s tweet to ‘set the record straight’.
Foreign Office Spokesman Dr Muhammad Faisal, in his weekly briefing, said that Pakistan provided intelligence to the United States to crack down against al Qaeda terrorists.
“We are aware of the United States’ contacts with the Taliban and we welcome the effort made,” the spokesperson added.
On November 19, Trump had launched another tirade at Pakistan on Twitter, alleging that the country “would take our money and do nothing for us.”
The US president had tweeted.”….We no longer pay Pakistan the $Billions because they would take our money and do nothing for us.”
….We no longer pay Pakistan the $Billions because they would take our money and do nothing for us, Bin Laden being a prime example, Afghanistan being another. They were just one of many countries that take from the United States without giving anything in return. That’s ENDING!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2018
Prime Minister Imran Khan had fired back at the US leader, saying the “record needs to be put straight on Mr Trump’s tirade against Pakistan”.
Record needs to be put straight on Mr Trump’s tirade against Pakistan: 1. No Pakistani was involved in 9/11 but Pak decided to participate in US War on Terror. 2. Pakistan suffered 75,000 casualties in this war & over $123 bn was lost to economy. US “aid” was a miniscule $20 bn.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 19, 2018
The Foreign Office spokesperson also noted during the press briefing that “Pakistan has invited India to hold discussions on terrorism-related issues. India had intentionally refused to invite Pakistan to the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium.”
On the Indian army chief’s recent comments on Pakistan, Dr Faisal said, “The Indian chief should be careful with his comments.”
On the atrocities committed by the Indian forces in Indian-occupied Kashmir, the spokesperson shared that the prime minister is aware of the situation in the valley and said, “Pakistan condemns the atrocities by the Indian forces in Kashmir. We hail the efforts of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) which conveyed firm support to Kashmiris.”
Speaking about the prime minister’s recent two-day visit to Malaysia, Dr Faisal informed journalists that bilateral talks were held to enhance cooperation between the two countries.
“Discussion over how to combat terrorism together by both the countries was also discussed,” he added.
Responding to a question about the murder of Superintendent of Police (SP) Tahir Khan Dawar, the spokesperson said that no information had yet been received from Afghanistan regarding the incident, and added, “The investigation into the murder of SP Dawar is underway in Pakistan.”
