04 January 2018•Update: 04 January 2018
ANKARA
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif has said history taught them not to "blindly" trust the U.S. in response to statements from top U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, accusing Islamabad of providing safe haven to militants fighting in war-torn Afghanistan.
In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Asif defended his country and mentioned a number of its problems caused by U.S. actions.
"For the past four years, we have been clearing the debris. Our forces are fighting in an exemplary manner, there is an unending saga of sacrifices," Asif said. "We will not compromise on our prestige anymore."
The minister recalled Pakistan's support for the U.S. at its own expense.
"We considered your enemy as our own, we filled the Guantanamo Bay, we served you with such enthusiasm that we left our country in electricity and gas shortages. We tried to please you at the expense of our economy. We provided tens of thousands of visas as a result of which Black Water networks spread across our country," Asif added.
Trump on Monday said in a tweet that his country had "foolishly" given billions of dollars in aid to Islamabad, which in return allegedly provided safe haven to terrorists fighting in Afghanistan. The accusation was immediately denied by Islamabad.
Relations between the U.S. and Pakistan in the war against terrorism have plummeted to new lows in recent years, mainly due to a clash of interests in Afghanistan.
According to details released by Pakistan on Tuesday, at least 62,421 lives -- about 50,000 of whom were civilians, the rest being security personnel -- were lost from 2003 to 2017 during the war against terror -- with a $123-billion loss to the country's economy.
Reporting by Mustafa Deveci by Kubra Chohan
