Pakistan responds to the US security assistance cut
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ISLAMABAD: On US military assistance cut-off, Pakistan’s Foreign Office has said that Pakistan fought war against terrorism largely from its own resources.
Spokesman for the foreign office (FO) said in a statement that the country’s officials were engaged with the US administration on the issue of security cooperation and were awaiting further details.
On Thursday, US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told a news briefing in Washington that the cut-off was not permanent and only affects military assistance.
The spokesperson, Dr Mohammad Faisal, said the “impact of the US’s decision on 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 has cost over $120 billion in 15 years,” read the statement. “We are determined to continue to do all it takes to secure the lives of our citizens and broader stability in the region.”
The statement adds 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 elimination of organised terrorist presence leading to significant improvement in security in Pakistan.”
The statement added 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 poppy cultivation, drug trafficking and initiating Afghan-led and owned political reconciliation in Afghanistan.”
