US envoy dressed down by Pakistan after Twitter attack

Pakistan yesterday lashed out at Donald Trump after he accused Islamabad of ‘lies and deceit’.

Hafiz Saeed in Lahore in December. Picture: AFP

Pakistan yesterday lashed out at Donald Trump after he accused Islamabad of “lies and deceit”, accusing the US President of blaming it for his own country’s failures in Afghanistan.

“The US has foolishly given Pakistan more than $US33 billion in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies and deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!” Mr Trump said in a tweet on New Year’s Day

Pakistan responded angrily, with Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif saying Islamabad could ­account for all US aid given to dismantle regional terror networks, suggesting Mr Trump’s tweet was born of frustration at the US “defeat in Afghanistan”.

US ambassador David Hale was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Monday and Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi yesterday convened a cabinet meeting to discuss the comments which were also likely to be debated at a national security committee meeting today.

Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan said his country had “given free to the US land and air communication, military bases and intelligence co-operation that decimated al-Qa’ida over last 16 years, but they have given us nothing but invective and mistrust. They overlook cross-border safe havens of terrorists who murder Pakistanis.”

Relations between the allies have plummeted under Mr Trump, who is said to be considering cancelling $US255 million in delayed aid to Islamabad.

Pakistan has for years been accused of paying lip service to cracking down in terror networks while using groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba — believed responsible for the 2008 Mumbai siege — to conduct a proxy war in Kashmir and sow discord in Afghanistan. It is also accused of providing cross border havens to the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network.

Islamabad has repeatedly denied those accusations, pointing to the thousands of Pakistanis killed in terror attacks.

A UN Security Council team is due in Pakistan this month to assess implementation of sanctions against listed organisations such as Jamat-ud-Dawa — the charitable arm of LET.

Global anti-money-laundering watchdog Financial Action Taskforce has demanded a compliance report from Pakistan by next month and warned it could be placed on a watchlist if it is found to have failed to crack down on terror financing.

It has been speculated Pakistan’s fear of UN sanctions may be behind a rumoured plan to seize control of charities and ­assets held by JuD founder Hafiz Saeed, said to include 300 ­madrasahs.

Pakistan’s Daily Times editor Raza Rumi told The Australian it was just as likely a response to Chinese pressure to crack down on terror threats to its multi-­billion-dollar One Belt One Road infrastructure initiative.

“The Chinese have emerged as a large donor for Pakistan because Pakistan is part of the OBOR plan. The Chinese have been telling Pakistan quietly to do something about threats to that,” Mr Rumi said yesterday.

“Even though I don’t think the Pakistan military wants to break off all ties with the US, the Chinese insurance emboldens them to take a designed posture towards America. American threats to cut aid don’t worry Pakistan so much.”

Saeed has been held intermittently under house arrest for years, including after the Mumbai attacks which he has denied all involvement in. While a Pakistani court found insufficient evidence to convict him over those attacks, he is listed by the US as a designated terrorist.