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August 26th, 2017 
Awake Goy 
nsnbc : Pakistan formally rebutted U.S. President Donald Trump’s South Asia strategy, rejecting allegations that Pakistan supports insurgents in Afghanistan, and stressing that India, which is in conflict with all of its neighbors, cannot be a partner for security in Afghanistan.
A formal, comprehensive rebuttal was issued Thursday after a meeting of Pakistan’s National Security Committee comprised of top civilian and military leaders and chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in Islamabad.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, while reading the rebuttal to the Senate, the upper house of parliament, said “The Afghan war cannot be fought in Pakistan; To scapegoat Pakistan will not help in stabilizing Afghanistan.”
Referring to U.S. President Donald Trump who, in his policy speech Monday, said that Pakistan is taking billions of dollars from the United States but housing the very terrorists attacking U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Asif said Pakistani security forces have taken “indiscriminate actions” against all terrorist networks and sacrificed tens of thousands of troops and civilians in this fight. In turn, he asked the United States to move against fugitive anti-state militants hiding in Afghanistan. Asif stressed:
“We would like to see effective and immediate U.S. military efforts to eliminate sanctuaries harboring terrorists and miscreants on the Afghan soil including those responsible for fomenting terror in Pakistan.”
Asif also stressed that insted of discussing U.S. financial aid, there should be understanding and recognition of Pakistan’s efforts, contributions and sacrifice of thousands of its citizens and over 120 billion U.S. dollars of economic losses.
The Pakistani Foreign Minister explained the claims of billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan are also misleading. Asif stressed that the reimbursements to Pakistan since 2001 only account for part of the cost of ground facilities and air corridors used by the United States for its operations in Afghanistan. Asif also stressed that Pakistan has consistently worked with Washington and Kabul to promote a negotiated settlement of the Afghan conflict to bring an end to years of bloodshed in the neighboring country.
Foreign Minister Asif also took aim at the Trump administration’s attempt to give India a greater a role in regional security efforts as well as in Afghanistan. Pakistani defense planners perceive Afghanistan as strategic depths for the case of a major military confrontation with neighboring India. The prospect of India having a greater role in Afghanistan produces about as much “angst” in Islamabad as the prospect of all of Kashmir being ruled by Pakistan or a reunification of Pakistan and Bangladesh would produce in Delhi. Asif said:
“India cannot be a net security provider in the South Asia region when it has conflictual relationships with all its neighbors and is pursuing a policy of destabilizing Pakistan from the east and the west.”
Pakistani leaders have consistently maintained that the Indian intelligence agency is using its growing influence with Afghan counterparts to sponsor terrorist attacks in Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny the charges. So far, non of the parties has provided any tangible evidence to substantiate their claims and counterclaims to the press.
CH/L – nsnbc 26.08.2017
Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2017/08/26/pakistan-rebutted-new-us-strategy-for-south-asia-and-afghanistan/
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