Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that he did not consider United States (US) President Donald Trump’s tweets accusing Pakistan of providing safe havens to terrorists as US official policy.
In an interview to Washington Post, PM Abbasi said policies are communicated through official documents and meeting, not through tweets.
On January 1, Trump tweeted that the US had “foolishly” given aid to Pakistan over the course of 15 years and Islamabad had given the US nothing but “lies & deceit”, thinking US leaders as “fools”.
“They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more,” Trump added.
The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 1, 2018
Referring to the US president’s tweet, the PM said that the ground realities were different from what Trumps was saying.
Pakistan is committed to fighting the war against terrorism, said Abbasi adding “there are no two ways about it”.
He reiterated that there were no terrorist centuries in Pakistan. “If someone provides us with actual intelligence, we act upon it.”
Abbasi further said that Pakistan would continue to provide the US with air and ground logistics for Afghanistan without any payment.