Alwaght- US military strategy in Afghanistan has never worked and will not work in future, Pakistani Premier has said.
Speaking during an interview on Saturday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said US President Donald Trump’s strategy for the nation’s longest-running war in Afghanistan will meet the same fate as the plans of his predecessors.
"From day one we have been saying very clearly the military strategy in Afghanistan has not worked and it will not work,” Abbasi, who took over as premier three weeks ago, said in an interview Saturday night in Karachi. There has to be a “political settlement,” he added. “That’s the bottom-line."
Abbasi said while his government supports the fight against terrorists it won’t let the war in Afghanistan, with which it shares a 2,500-kilometer border, spill into Pakistan.
The new Afghan strategy announced by US President Donald Trump, which attacked Pakistan for allegedly providing safe havens to terrorists and offered India a greater role in Afghanistan, has angered Islamabad.
“We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organizations, the Taliban, and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond,” Trump said, outlining strategy in South Asia.
"Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our effort in Afghanistan. It has much to lose by continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists."
“Terrorists who slaughter innocent people will find no glory in this life or the next. They are nothing but thugs, and criminals, and predators, and – that’s right – losers.”
Trump suggested that military and other aid to Washington's nuclear-armed ally is at stake.
"We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting," he said. "That will have to change and that will change immediately."
Trump salso aid the US wanted India to help more with Afghanistan, especially in the areas of economic assistance and development.
In response to Trump's remarks, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said the Americans are scapegoating Pakistan for their failure in Afghanistan. Opposition politicians also joined the government in slamming the US. Imran Khan, leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, asked the country to learn from its past mistakes.
“This should teach Pak once and for all a valuable lesson: never to fight others wars for the lure of dollars. Our economy suffered over $100 billion in losses. In addition, there were intangible costs on our society. Time for Pakistan to say: Never again,” he tweeted.
