ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Maleeha Lodhicondemned the United States (US) administration’s aggressive remarksagainst Pakistan and said that Islamabad could “review its cooperation ifit is not appreciated”.
Referring to US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley’s comments a day earlierlink>whereshe had accused Pakistan of playing a “double game” with the US, Lodhicautioned against “shifting the blame for [the US’] own mistakes andfailures onto others”.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Lodhi said that Pakistan has”contributed and sacrificed the most in fighting international terrorism”.
The diplomat added that Pakistan’s role in the war against terrorism didnot depend on US aid but on “national interests and principles”.ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADWorsening relations
A war of words was triggered after Trump, in his first tweets on New Year’sday link>, lashed out against Pakistan,calling the country a “liar”.
Elaborating on Trump’s tweets, Haley on Tuesday said that the US hadwithheld $255 million of military aid to Pakistan for the latter’s alleged”harbouring of terrorists”.
On the same day, US Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said at a press briefingthat a detailed policy will be announced within the next 24-48 hourslink>.
While announcing his national security policy last yearlink>, the US president had been quick toremind Pakistan of its ‘obligation’ to help America “because it receivesmassive payments” from Washington every year.
“We have made clear to Pakistan that while we desire continued partnership,we must see decisive action against terrorist groups operating on theirterritory. And we make massive payments every year to Pakistan. They haveto help,” he had said.
A Pentagon report to the US Congress, released to the media on Dec 17, hadsaid Washington would also take ‘unilateral steps’link> in areas of divergence with Pakistanwhile expanding cooperation between the two countries where their interestsconverge.
Subsequently, US Vice President Mike Pence had, in a surprise visit toAfghanistan’s Bagram airbase on Dec 22, warned that Trump has “put Pakistanon notice” link> in what was the harshest USwarning to Islamabad since the beginning of the Afghan war over 16 yearsago.
The Pakistan Army spokesman, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, had at a pressconference last week asserted that the aid Pakistan received from the USwas “reimbursement for support we gave to the coalition for its fightagainst Al Qaeda.”
“Had we not supported the US and Afghanistan, they would never have beenable to defeat Al Qaeda,” he had said.
His briefing was considered perhaps the strongest-ever reaction fromIslamabad since US functionaries began alluding to the possibility ofunilateral action.
Hitting back at the US, the civilian-controlled Foreign Office (FO) hadalso warned against the “malicious campaign” being “used to trivialisePakistan’s achievements in the war against terrorism”, and noted thatallied don’t put each other at notice.
The FO had further complained that US statements are “at variance with theextensive conversations we [Islamabad] have had with the US administration”.