Pakistan only received reimbursement of expenditures from US: DG ISPR

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan military, in response to US President Donald Trump’s remarks, has said that Pakistan had received Coalition Support Fund from the United States as expenditures for our military to support Washington in its war against terror in Afghanistan. Speaking with senior anchor Hamid Mir in Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’, Director General Inter Services Public Relations Major General Asif Ghafoor said, “Pakistan received only $15-20 billion in terms of Coalition Support Fund, while the national exchequer incurred $123 billion in losses in monetary terms besides other sacrifices to support US operations in its war against terror.” The military spokesman emphasised as it is evident by its name, Pakistan received CSF as a reimbursement of its expenditures for operations that were carried out to support United States in its war on terror in Afghanistan, adding CSF was for Afghan war. The funds Pakistan received were spent to support US operations that were initiated originally by the US itself. Major General Asif Ghafoor said main objective of Pakistan’s war is to restore peace in the region, adding that Pakistan engaged in this war not for money (aid) but for regional peace. He said that Pakistan conducted operations in North Waziristan and also launched the opera- tion against Haqqani network under Zarb-eAzab. No results are seen immediately. DG ISPR said no one can dictate Pakistan how to move forward. Pakistan will never compromise on its prestige and integrity, he asserted. The spokesman said Pakistan always backed US, but on the contrary, Washington never reciprocated with the same gesture, be it issues with India or elsewhere. He went on to say US should realise that the misunderstandings between Islamabad and Washington could negatively affect the security situation in the region, particularly in Afghanistan. Major General Asif Ghafoor welcomed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif ’s statement on Trump’s remarks.