War of words between allies

US-Pakistan relations are likely to worsen in this year, analysts say

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan summoned the US Ambassador David Hale in protest against US President Donald Trump’s tweet about Pakistan’s “lies and deceit”, which Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif dismissed the outburst as a political stunt.

Hale was summoned by the Pakistan foreign office on Monday to explain Trump’s tweet, a spokesperson for the US embassy in Islamabad confirmed.

In a withering attack, Trump tweeted on Monday: “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.”

He further wrote that “they give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!”

Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday was scheduled to chair a Cabinet meeting that will focus on Trump’s tweet, while on Wednesday the country’s top civilian and military chiefs were scheduled to meet to discuss the deteriorating ties.

Relations between the US and its ally Pakistan have been strained for many years over Islamabad’s alleged support for Haqqani network militants, who are allied with the Afghan Taliban.

Washington has signaled to Pakistan that it would cut aid and enact other punitive measures if Islamabad did not stop helping or turning a blind eye to the Haqqani network militants who carry out cross-border attacks in Afghanistan.

Islamabad bristles at the suggestion it is not doing enough in the war against militancy, saying that it has launched military operations to push out militants from its soil and that 17,000 Pakistanis have died fighting militants or in bombings and other attacks since 2001.

‘A political stunt’

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif dismissed Trump’s comments as a political stunt borne out of frustration over US failures in Afghanistan, where Afghan Taliban militants have been gaining territory and carrying out major attacks.

“He has tweeted against us (Pakistan) and Iran for domestic consumption,” Asif told Geo TV on Monday.

“He is again and again displacing his frustrations on Pakistan over failures in Afghanistan as they are trapped in dead-end street in Afghanistan.”

Asif added that Pakistan did not need US aid, tweeting: “We will respond to President Trump’s tweet shortly inshallah ... Will let the world know the truth ... difference between facts & fiction.”

A US National Security Council official on Monday said the White House did not plan to send $255 million in aid to Pakistan “at this time” and said “the administration continues to review Pakistan’s level of cooperation.”

In August, the administration had said it was delaying the payment.

Analysts said Trump’s tweet signals that the fraught US-Pakistan ties are likely to worsen in 2018.

“The trend lines have not been good, and the tweet gives an indication of the turmoil that awaits in 2018,” said Michael Kugelman, the senior associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson Center.

He has tweeted against us (Pakistan) and Iran for domestic consumption.” Khawaja Asif,