WASHINGTON – The US Embassy in Islamabad is denying Pakistan’s claims ithas suspended military or intelligence cooperation with the United States,according to VOA report.
“We have not received any formal communication regarding a suspension,” theUS Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said as quoted by the VOA.
This comes after Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan said thatIslamabad has suspended military and intelligence cooperation with theUnited States in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s allegation thatPakistan has given the US “nothing but lies and deceit” and suspension ofsecurity aid for Pakistan, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.
The US is facing defeat in Afghanistan despite spending billions ofdollars, Khan said while addressing a gathering at Institute of StrategicStudies in Islamabad on Tuesday, it said.
“Pakistan does not want to put a price on its sacrifices but wants them tobe recognised,” Khan said, adding that Pakistan will not allowAfghanistan’s war to be fought on Pakistani territory.
In Washington, State Department’s Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy andPublic Affairs Steve Goldstein told VOA Tuesday the United States is“hopeful that Pakistan will come back to the table” and assist in USefforts to combat terrorism.
The US announced last Thursday that it would not deliver military equipmentor transfer security-related funds to Pakistan, suspending the so-calledForeign Military Financing (FMF) and Coalition Support Funds (CSF) but notcivilian assistance to that country.
Pakistan says the United States is scapegoating it for US failures inAfghanistan.
A senior State Department official said earlier “the success in Afghanistanrelies on better” relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and “itrelies on Pakistan being an active, constructive player” in South Asia.