International Relations
On Twitter, PM Imran Khan responds to Trump’s ‘false assertions’ on Pakistan
Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan Monday took to Twitter to comment against US President Donald Trump’s ‘tirade’ against his country, saying that he needed to inform himself on historical facts after Trump alleged that Islamabad did not adequately support the Washington-led “war on terror”.
In a series of tweets, Khan wrote detailed responses to Trump’s allegations, stating that ‘the record needs to be put straight’.
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
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 19, 2018
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.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 19, 2018
3. Our tribal areas were devastated & millions of ppl uprooted from their homes. The war drastically impacted lives of ordinary Pakistanis. 4. Pak continues to provide free lines of ground & air communications(GLOCs/ALOCs).Can Mr Trump name another ally that gave such sacrifices?
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 19, 2018
Instead of making Pakistan a scapegoat for their failures, the US should do a serious assessment of why, despite 140000 NATO troops plus 250,000 Afghan troops & reportedly $1 trillion spent on war in Afghanistan, the Taliban today are stronger than before.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 19, 2018
Trump had, a day before, in an interview with Fox News stated that aid was not being dispatched to the country since they had allowed former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to hide in the country all the while receiving US money.
“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.
In a sharp response, Khan stated that during the “war on terror”, 75,000 casualties were reported in his country and over $123 billion was lost to economy, while US’s aid was ‘a mere $20 billion’.
“1. No Pakistani was involved in 9/11 but Pak[istan] decided to participate in US War on Terror. 2. Pakistan suffered 75,000 casualties in this war and over $123bn was lost to the economy. US “aid” was a minuscule $20bn,” Khan posted on Twitter.
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 underlined 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.
After Khan’s response, Trump tweeted: “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!”
….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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2018
(With inputs from agencies)
