News Analysis |
Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua summoned US ambassador David Hale early Tuesday morning to seek an explanation for President Trump’s outrageous tweets that misquoted the amount of aid given to Pakistan as 33 billion dollars.
Along with false figures of aid, President Trump demeaned Pakistan by saying that they have given America nothing but “lies and deceit”. This tweet has caused widespread outrage in Pakistan and has resulted in the country taking a firm stance against the President’s statements.
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
The official facts and figures about the foreign aid given to Pakistan by the United States stand in stark contrast to the 33 billion dollar amount quoted by President Trump. There are various discrepancies in the way that the statistics have been calculated which seem to completely disregard the amount allocated for reimbursements as well as the actual net amount of appropriations.
Pakistan does not purchase any arms from the United States of America and has given access to the United States to the land and air routes.
The actual figure of foreign aid that has been given to Pakistan from the United States stands at approximately 20 billion dollars. The US politicians often quote the ‘declared allocations’ which is different from the actual amount of money received by Pakistan. Another point of contention arises regarding the Coalition Support Fund which was a contractual agreement between the United States and Pakistan that aimed to establish regional peace.
The United States always inadvertently adds the amount of money given to the fund to the amount of foreign aid which is not only an error in calculation but extreme negligence of the terms and conditions of international agreements.
The foreign minister Khawaja Asif responded to Trump’s claim by saying that if the foreign aid that the US president has quoted accounts for every financial transaction exchanged between the two countries then these statistics should also include the reimbursements for the services rendered by Pakistan.
The official facts and figures about the foreign aid given to Pakistan by the United States stand in stark contrast to the 33 billion dollar amount quoted by President Trump.
The 2600 km long border that Pakistan shares with Afghanistan has been protected by Pakistani forces in order to reduce the costs of the United States and despite constant pressure from Afghanistan on Pakistan regarding the logistics, the United States is not contributing any manpower on that front.
We will respond to President Trump's tweet shortly inshallah…Will let the world know the truth..difference between facts & fiction..
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) January 1, 2018
The foreign minister and the defence minister were firm in their stance which stated that Pakistan has been nothing but cooperative with the United States on all fronts however if the US decides to adopt this stance towards Pakistan then their first and foremost duty is to protect national interests and defend the sovereignty of the land.
The United States always inadvertently adds the amount of money given to the fund to the amount of foreign aid.
Khawaja Asif, the foreign minister, also stated that Pakistan will not do more after Trump called the country a ‘liar’ and said that we will let the world know the difference between fact and fiction in light of the President’s tweet. It is important to note that Pakistan is not even on the list of the top recipients of US aid which includes countries like Israel and Egypt.
Pakistan does not purchase any arms from the United States of America and has given access to the United States to the land and air routes free of charge as opposed to extorting money from them nullifying Trump’s tirade on the grounds of inaccurate data as well as a complete misrepresentation of Pakistan’s stance towards the United States.
Pak as anti-terror ally has given free to US: land & air communication, military bases & intel cooperation that decimated Al-Qaeda over last 16yrs, but they have given us nothing but invective & mistrust. They overlook cross-border safe havens of terrorists who murder Pakistanis.
— Pak Defence—PMLN (@PakDefencePMLN) January 1, 2018