Trump kickstarted 2018 by lashing out on Twitter, this time at Pakistan.
“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 wrote. “They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!”
The U.S. and Pakistan have had a strained relationship regarding Pakistan’s commitment to stopping terrorism in the region and for purportedly allowing extremist groups like the Taliban and the Haqqani network to thrive.
U.S. officials also point to the fact that several high-ranking members of extremist groups, such as Taliban leader Mullah Mansour and al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, both spent time living in Pakistan without being captured the government; both of the aforementioned militant leaders were killed by U.S. military operations.
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Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif wrote off Trump’s tweet as another attempt to appeal to his voter base. “He has tweeted against [Pakistan] and Iran for his domestic consumption,†he said in a Geo TV interview 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. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 1, 2018
U.S. ambassador David Hale was forced to explain Trump’s tweet Monday after being summoned by Pakistan’s foreign office.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi called a meeting to have a discussion about Trump’s latest comments and the tense U.S-Pakistan relationship.
