ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif has said that the Trumpadministration has turned Islamabad into ‘whipping boy’ contrary to theprotocols of being an ally.

In an interview on Friday, the foreign minister said that the US failed tobehave as an ally, adding that Pakistan does not consider the US as an allyeither, after the behaviour of the Trump administration.

Asif’s comments were a part of series of reactions from the Pakistanadministration in the aftermath of US’s refusal to continue providingsecurity-related aid to the country.

On Thursday, the US had that security assistance to Islamabad was onhold until the Pakistani government took “decisive action” against terrorgroups on its territory, including the Afghan Taliban and the HaqqaniNetwork.

The announcement followed a tweet from President Donald Trump earlier thisweek alleging that Pakistan provides “safe haven to the terrorists we huntin Afghanistan.” Islamabad denied the claim and has long decried similarallegations.

In reply to decisive action against the Haqqani Network in the tribalareas, the Pakistan Army spokesperson had earlier said that the army’soffensive against the Haqqani group will take some time to display results.

Pakistan’s recent counter-terrorism operations—including those in thetribal areas that border Afghanistan—has cleared the country of both theorganised presence of militants and areas where they might seek sanctuaryas peace returns, *Wall Street Journallink>*quotedAsif as saying.

Over the issue of Afghan refugees, the minister called out the US andAfghan administration, saying: “A lack of cooperation from Washington andKabul on both returning refugees to Afghanistan and fencing the borderbetween the two countries raises the suspicion that the intent [to fightterror together] is not sincere.”

“We have relative calm in Pakistan at the moment. But if we go againstthese people [Afghan insurgents], then the war will again be fought on oursoil, which will suit the Americans,” he said.

Denying any type of isolation to be faced by Pakistan in the aftermath ofUS decision, he said that there were other countries that could ally withPakistan.

Following Trump’s tweet against Pakistan this week, China foreign ministrysaid it was “ready to promote and deepen” its cooperation with Pakistan.

Last year, Pakistan rallied officials from China, Iran, Russia and Turkeybehind Pakistan’s strategy for Afghanistan, a process centered on peacetalks with the Taliban.

It may be mentioned here since 2001—the year Pakistan joined the war onterror— some jihadist groups turned on Islamabad in a campaign that hastaken thousands of lives.