ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Navy is now seeking to carry out independent RegionalMaritime Security Patrol (RMSP) after quitting US led CTF.
It will now patrol the international waters from the Gulf of Aden to theGulf of Oman, and from the Strait of Hormuz to the Maldivian waters, aPakistani military official told Al-Jazeera.
Experts believe that Pakistan’s decision to quit CTF does not mean that itis severing its ties with the CMF. Pakistan is still part of the CombinedMaritime Force and could anytime resume its operations with the CTF151.
[image: trump and pakistan flag]
Pakistan and the US relations have been at a critical juncture ever sincePresident Donald Trump took control. The first crack in the relations ofthe two former allies appeared when Trump, in August 2017, announced itsnew South Asia policy and blamed Pakistan for US failure in Afghanistan.
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He accused Pakistan of harboring terrorism, a claim Pakistan vehementlydenies. In his New Year tweet, US President took another a jibe at Pakistanand said the country has double-crossed the US in the war against terrorism.
In August this year, the Trump administration stopped funding for atraining programme for Pakistani military officers.
The military ties between the two countries have borne the final blow whenthe US military, in September, cut $300m in aid to Pakistan. The movefueled to Pakistan’s anger which believes that the US owed this money toPakistan.
