Pakistan accuses US of betrayal after military aid suspension

Donald TrumpAmid opposition calls for retaliation the Pakistan government on Friday accused the US of betrayal and decried arbitrary deadlines and unilateral pronouncements after the Donald Trump administration suspended an estimated 1 billion in military assistance In one of the harshest actions in years between the troubled allies Washington moved to block the military aid at the end of a contentious week that began with Trump bashing Islamabad for years of lies amp deceit as well as for harbouring terroristsThe US State Department officials said they were holding back the aid as an incentive for Islamabad to take decisive action to rid its lands of terrorist safe havens It also placed Pakistan on a watch list of countries failing to protect religious freedom Working towards enduring peace requires mutual respect and trust along with patience and persistence Pakistans Foreign Ministry said in a statement Arbitrary deadlines unilateral pronouncements and shifting goal posts were counterproductive in addressing common threatsThe Ministry defended Islamabads stance on terrorism saying that it has fought the war against terrorism largely from its own resources which has cost over 120 billion in 15 years We are determined to continue to do all it takes to secure the lives of our citizens and broader stability in the regionIn an interview on Thursday with the Geo News channel Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said that the US was now neither a friend nor ally but a friend who always betrays He also accused Trump of speaking the language of India Pakistans opposition meanwhile called for concrete actions to retaliatePakistan TehreekeInsaf PTI chief Imran Khan said Pakistan should delink itself from the US after its humiliation by an ungrateful Donald Trump Addressing a fiery press conference outside his residence in Islamabad Khan called the Pakistan government to expel some US diplomatic personnel and cut off supply routes for the USled coalition forces from the port city of Karachi to landlocked Afghanistan as well as close its airspace to US forcesThe political elite of Pakistan were responsible for the threats and strained relations between the two countries Khan said referring to the Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz PMLN government The US has given Pakistan more than 20 billion in reimbursements and military assistance since 2002 but that aid has diminished over the years to the point that Pakistani officials have insisted its suspension will have minimal impact the New York Times reportedThe suspension is arguably more significant as a signal of Washingtons discontent than as an act of financial deprivation said Joshua T White an Asia analyst who was director of South Asian affairs at the National Security Council during the Obama years The Trump administration has likely sketched out an escalation strategy and would be wise to pause after Thursdays announcement to give Pakistan the opportunity to quietly address US concernsThe contentreporting displayed on our website wwwmiddaycom is provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE by us from a third party agencies sources without any verification from our side It may contain error bugs and other limitations The readers can rely on the content at their own will Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability data text images video messages or any other material whatsoever or for any claimslossaction that the reader may suffer as a result of relying on the content on our site Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeverCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the goTrending videos