Alwaght- Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan lashed out at US President Donald Trump, saying America, instead of making Pakistan a "scapegoat" for its failures in Afghanistan, should find out why the Taliban has emerged "stronger than ever before".
The Pakistani premier's Monday tweet came in response to Trump's Sunday remarks that defended his administration's decision to stop hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Pakistan for not doing enough to curb terrorism, Trump also accused Islamabad for offering a hideout to al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in the garrison city of Abbottabad.
Khan, who assumed power in August and is known for his fiery anti-American rhetoric, in a series of tweets sharply reacted to Trump, recalling the Pakistani lives lost during the "war on terror", before appearing to suggest the US should look closer to home to find those responsible for the continued strength of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
"Record needs to be put straight on Mr Trump's tirade against Pakistan: 1. No Pakistani was involved in 9/11 but Pak decided to participate in US War on Terror. 2. Pakistan suffered 75,000 casualties in this war & over $123 bn was lost to economy. US "aid" was a miniscule $20 bn," Khan Tweeted on Monday.
Khan said the US has made Pakistan a "scapegoat" for its failures in Afghanistan, where the Taliban are stronger than at any point since the 2001 US-led invasion.
"Instead of making Pakistan a scapegoat for their failures, the US should do a serious assessment of why, despite 140,000 NATO troops plus 250,000 Afghan troops and reportedly $1 trillion spent on war in Afghanistan, the Taliban today are stronger than ever before."
Khan also highlighted how the war devastated Pakistan's tribal areas and uprooted millions of Pakistanis from their homes. He said the country continues to provide free lines of ground and air communications to the US.
"Can Mr Trump name another ally that gave such sacrifices?" he said.
"Trump’s false assertions add insult to the injury Pak has suffered in US WoT in terms of lives lost & destabilised & economic costs. He needs to be informed abt historical facts. Pak has suffered enough fighting US's war. Now we will do what is best for our people & our interests," Pakistani prime minister posted on Twitter.
The friction threatens to further worsen already fragile relations between Islamabad and Washington, on-off allies who have repeatedly clashed about the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan's alleged support for militants.
Trump, during a Fox News TV interview aired on Sunday, defended cutting aid to Islamabad saying, Pakistan "don't do a damn thing" for the US, and once again blamed Pakistan for allegedly sheltering bin Laden.
"He was living in Pakistan, we're supporting Pakistan, we're giving them $1.3bn a year, which we don't give them any more. By the way, I ended it because they don't do anything for us, they don't do a damn thing for us," he said.
" Trump, in a pre-recorded interview, said bin Laden had been living in "a nice mansion" in Pakistan next to a military academy and "everybody in Pakistan knew he was there".
Pakistan denies supporting Afghan Taliban insurgents waging war against US-backed troops in Afghanistan and Islamabad has also always rejected claims officials aided former al-Qaeda leader bin Laden.
Shortly after Khan's comments on Monday, Trump took to Twitter again to slam Pakistan.
"We paid Pakistan billions of dollars and they never told us he was living there. Fools! We no longer pay Pakistan the billions because they would take our money and do nothing for us, Bin Laden being a prime example, Afghanistan being another.
"They were just one of many countries that take from the United States without giving anything in return. That's ENDING!" Trump posted.
Bin Laden was found to be hiding in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, where he was killed in a raid by US Navy Seals in 2011.
