PAK SUMMONS US DIPLOMAT, LODGES PROTEST

Islamabad, Nov. 20: Pakistan summoned a senior US diplomat here on Tuesday and lodged a strong protest over President Donald Trump’s “baseless allegations” on Osama bin Laden, saying it was a “closed chapter of history” and could seriously undermine bilateral ties.

Trump on Sunday, and in follow up tweets, defended his administration’s decision to stop hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Pakistan for not doing enough to curb terrorism and criticised Islamabad for offering a hideout to late Al Qaeda chief bin Laden in Abbottabad.

“We give Pakistan $1.3 billion a year . ... (Laden] lived in Pakistan, we’re supporting Pakistan, we’re giving them $1.3 billion a year — which we don’t give them anymore, by the way, I ended it because they don’t do anything for us, they don’t do a damn thing for us,” the President told Fox News.

“The foreign secretary (Tehmina Janjua) called in the US charge d’affaires Paul Jones to register a strong protest on the unwarranted and unsubstantiated allegations made against Pakistan,” foreign office spokesman Muhammad Faisal said. “Conveying her government’s disappointment on the recent tweets and comments by the US President, the US charge d’affaires was told that such baseless rhetoric about Pakistan was totally unacceptable,” he said.

He added Janjua reminded Jones that it was Pakistan’s intelligence cooperation that gave the initial proof to trace the late Al Qaeda leader. — PTI