Pakistan registers protest, summons US diplomat over Trump’s remarks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday registered a strong protest against “unwarranted and unsubstantiated allegations” by US President Donald Trump regarding the war on terror, saying such remarks could undermine cooperation to find a political settlement in Afghanistan. A day after Trump and Prime Minister Imran Khan sparred on Twitter over the US leader’s accusations that Pakistan had “done nothing” even after receiving billions of dollars as aid, the Pakistani military too joined the pushback, with army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa saying the country’s security is more important than Afghanistan. Foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua called in US chargé d’affaires Paul Jones to the Foreign Office to register the protest over “unwarranted and unsubstantiated allegations” made by Trump during an interview and on Twitter over the past two days.

Trump targeted Pakistan on two counts – for failing to act against former al-qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and for not delivering in the war on terror after receiving billions of dollars over the years. A Foreign Office statement said: “Rejecting the insinuations about OBL, foreign secretary reminded the US CDA that it was Pakistan’s intelligence cooperation that provided the initial evidence to trace the whereabouts of OBL.” This is probably the first time a Pakistani official publicly made a claim about sharing of intelligence.