MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The statements of the United States regarding itsmulti-billion assistance to Pakistan to counter terrorism are not reliableand contradict facts, Pakistani Ambassador to Russia Qazi Khalilullah toldSputnik in an interview.
“The people and the Government of Pakistan were therefore deeplydisappointed and hurt by the offensive allegations made in the recentprovocative statements by the United States leadership, which werecompletely incomprehensible as they contradicted facts manifestly. Theyalso ignored the enormous sacrifices rendered by the people of Pakistanwhile fighting terrorism,” Khalilullah said.
The ambassador stressed that Islamabad’s fight against terrorism had costthe lives of 70,000 citizens, including 6,500 military and law enforcementpersonnel, while the country’s economy lost more than $120 billion.
“The claims of billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan are also misleading.About half of the total amount is reimbursements to Pakistan since 2001rather than any financial aid or assistance. The reimbursements onlyaccount for part of the cost of ground facilities and air corridorsof Pakistan used by the United States for its operations in Afghanistan,”Khalilullah noted.
The statement comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump accusedIslamabad of providing a “safe haven to the terrorists” despite hiscountry’s multi-billion assistance to Pakistan.
Several day later, the US Department of State stated that Pakistan was notbeing aggressive enough in attacking the Afghan Taliban terrorist group orthe Haqqani Network (affiliated with al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorist groups,both banned in Russia) and announced the suspension of security assistancelink> to Islamabad.
The ambassador further said that reports about the flow of Daesh militantsfrom Syria and Iraq to Pakistan’s territory were incorrect.
“We have seen reports about Daesh fighters from Syria and Iraq having goneto several countries of the region. However, one has to make a distinctionbetween reports and evidence. There is no evidence of suchfighters having gone to any part of Pakistan. Let me also categoricallystate that Daesh does not have organized presence in Pakistan,” Khalilullahsaid.
The ambassador noted that Pakistan, including its tribal areas borderingAfghanistan, was not attractive to terrorists, since the Pakistani securityforces had been conducting the “Zarb-e-Azb” and “Radd-ul Fasaad”anti-terrorist operations in the area for several years, adding that theoperations had cost Pakistan $2 billion.
Khalilullah stressed that terrorism posed a threat to the security of allcountries, and therefore relevant representatives of Russia and Pakistanare in constant contact.
“As coordinated efforts are required to eliminate this menace, Pakistaniand Russian officials dealing with security issues remain in contact andalso exchange information and visits …
As far as interaction between Pakistan and Russia on counter-terrorism isconcerned, it takes place within the framework of a Consultative Mechanismon Counter-Terrorism existing between the two countries,” the ambassadorsaid.
In October, Andrey Novikov, the head of the Commonwealth of IndependentStates Anti-Terrorism Center, told Sputnik that Daesh militants sufferinglosses in Syria were relocating to Pakistan’s province of Waziristan. Henoted that relocation of significant IS forces from Syria to Iraq to theterritory of Waziristan with further redistribution had been observedsince the fall of 2016.