[While describing Mr. Trump’s remarks as “completely incomprehensible,” a statement after the meeting was temperate. It concluded that, “despite all unwarranted allegations, Pakistan cannot act in haste and will remain committed to playing a constructive role towards an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.”]
By Salman Masood
 |
|
United
States officials have expressed frustration over Pakistan’s failure to confront
terrorist
networks.
Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, above, a popular Pakistani militant leader,
was
freed from house arrest in November.CreditMohsin Raza/Reuters
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ISLAMABAD,
Pakistan — Pakistan has
dismissed as “incomprehensible” and of “no importance” a tweet by President
Trump saying that it had accepted billions of dollars in aid from the United
States while failing to act against terrorist networks.
Mr. Trump, in a tweet on Monday, accused
Pakistan of deceit and lies and said that Pakistan gives “safe haven to
terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help.”
“No more,” Mr. Trump warned.
Later that day, Pakistan’s foreign affairs
minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, dismissed Mr. Trump’s Twitter outburst as
having “no importance.”
David Hale, the American ambassador, was
summoned late Monday to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad, the
capital, and a diplomatic protest was lodged, Pakistani officials said.
Coverage of Mr. Trump’s comments has
dominated the Pakistani news media, and an emergency session of the country’s
National Security Council was held Tuesday evening to allow top civilian and
military leaders to prepare a response.
While describing Mr. Trump’s remarks as
“completely incomprehensible,” a statement after the meeting was temperate. It
concluded that, “despite all unwarranted allegations, Pakistan cannot act in
haste and will remain committed to playing a constructive role towards an
Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.”
Mr. Trump’s post and Pakistan’s response
point to a nose-dive in the relationship between the United States and
Pakistan, which has become deeply strained in recent months.
In several recent high-profile visits, United
States officials have repeatedly expressed frustration over Pakistan’s failure
to confront terrorist networks within its borders. But Pakistani officials say
they have done more than enough.
Privately, Pakistani officials say that the
United States has failed in Afghanistan and is looking to blame Pakistan for
that failure. Pakistani officials continue to deny that militants, especially
those with the Haqqani network, which is allied with the Afghan Taliban and is
responsible for many lethal attacks inside Afghanistan, have havens inside
Pakistan.
During a news conference last week, Maj. Gen.
Asif Ghafoor, the spokesman for Pakistan’s military, warned the United States
against taking any unilateral antiterrorism action on Pakistani soil.
Pakistan’s military says it is working to
build a fence along the Afghan border to curb infiltration. Officials also say
that the estimated 2.7 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan need to be
repatriated because their presence in the country complicates action against
Taliban militants. Pakistani officials say fighters from the Taliban and other
groups are able to hide in settlement camps by mingling with refugees.
Pakistani officials also insist that Mr.
Trump has his figures wrong, taking aim at his claim that the United States had
“foolishly” given it $33 billion since 2002.
“About $14 billion of that $33 billion was
part of coalition support fund, which was compensation for services rendered,”
said Miftah Ismail, an adviser to the prime minister on finance, revenue and
economic affairs, in an interview. “Our billings were for $22 billion and we
got only $14 billion. So we think the U.S. owes us $8 billion.”
The United States has been withholding $255
million in military aid in hopes of pushing Pakistan to change its behavior.
The money was authorized in 2016 and put in escrow in August. In recent days,
Trump administration officials have debated whether to announce that Pakistan would
not receive the money at all.
Mr. Ismail said the $255 million was a tiny
fraction of Pakistan’s gross domestic product. “So, not a great deal of money.”
Pakistani leadership was also comforted by a
strong expression of support from China.
Geng Shuang, the spokesman of China’s Foreign
Ministry, said during a news conference on Tuesday said that “Pakistan has made
great efforts and sacrifices for combating terrorism and made prominent
contributions to the cause of international counterterrorism, and the
international community should fully recognize this.”
While there was characteristic chest thumping
on television talk shows, with guests lampooning the United States threats,
some critics said there was indeed a need for greater introspection in Pakistan.
“There is a need to fill the gaps in our
policy,” Muhammad Nawaz Chaudhry, a former Pakistani ambassador, said in an
interview. “We cannot take the bilateral relationship to a dead end.”
“We are living in denial,” he added. “The
world, especially the United States, is not accepting our narrative.”
As an example, Mr. Chaudhry pointed to Hafiz
Muhammad Saeed, the founding leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group
behind the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India, who has continued to live openly in
Pakistan despite long being one of the most-wanted militant leaders in the
region, with a huge American bounty on his head.
After Mr. Trump’s tweet on Monday, a charity
run by Mr. Saeed, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, was prohibited from collecting donations,
according to a government order. But Mr. Chaudhry said that the order was just
playing to the gallery.
“Rather than becoming belligerent,” he said,
“we need to be realistic and go with the world opinion.”
Gardiner Harris contributed reporting from
Washington.
