US’ war in Afghanistan drastically impacted lives of ordinary Pakistanis: Imran Khan
On Monday, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan blasted on US president Donald Trump saying that no Pakistani was involved in 9/11 but Pakistan participated in US war on terror that caused 75,000 casualties and loss of over $123 billion to economy and urged US to not make Pakistan a scapegoat for their failures in Afghanistan.
Khan’s remarks came after US president Donald Trump said in an interview to Fox News on Sunday that Osama bin Laden was living in Pakistan and Pakistanis were aware of that and defended his decision to block the US aid to Pakistan military saying that Pakistan didn’t do anything damn for US.
Khan wrote on twitter, “Record needs to be put straight on Mr Trump’s tirade against Pakistan: 1. No Pakistani was involved in 9/11 but Pak decided to participate in US War on Terror. 2. Pakistan suffered 75,000 casualties in this war & over $123 bn was lost to economy. US “aid” was a miniscule $20 bn”.
Khan mentioned the burns that Islamabad bore because of Washington’s war in the region and criticized US for its failure in elimination of Taliban even after its strong military presence for long time in Afghanistan and alleged that Taliban has become stronger than before.
He wrote, “Our tribal areas were devastated & millions of ppl uprooted from their homes. The war drastically impacted lives of ordinary Pakistanis. Pak continues to provide free lines of ground & air communications(GLOCs/ALOCs).Can Mr Trump name another ally that gave such sacrifices?”
Instead of making Pakistan a scapegoat for their failures, the US should do a serious assessment of why, despite 140000 NATO troops plus 250,000 Afghan troops & reportedly $1 trillion spent on war in Afghanistan, the Taliban today are stronger than before.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 19, 2018
He added, “Instead of making Pakistan a scapegoat for their failures, the US should do a serious assessment of why, despite 140000 NATO troops plus 250,000 Afghan troops & reportedly $1 trillion spent on war in Afghanistan, the Taliban today are stronger than before”.
Khan said, “Trump’s false assertions add insult to the injury Pak has suffered in US WoT in terms of lives lost & destabilised & economic costs. He needs to be informed abt historical facts. Pak has suffered enough fighting US’s war. Now we will do what is best for our people & our interests”.
President Trump said in an interviewed that was aired on Sunday that Osama bin laden was living in a nice mansion in Pakistan and everybody in Pakistan knew that he was there. Trump said that he ended the financial support to Pakistan because they didn’t do a damn thing for US.
He said, “And we give Pakistan $1.3 billion a year. … (bin Laden) lived in Pakistan, we’re supporting Pakistan, we’re giving them $1.3 billion a year – which we don’t give them anymore, by the way. I ended it because they don’t do anything for us, they don’t do a damn thing for us”.
