Pakistan has summoned the US Chargé d'Affaires in Islamabad to protest against remarks made by US President Donald Trump who has criticised Pakistan's role in fighting terrorism fight and the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Mr Trump's comments over the last few days have angered Pakistan.
Prime Minister Imran Khan hit back at Mr Trump by saying on Twitter that few allies have sacrificed or helped the United States as much as Pakistan in its war on terror.
The friction threatens to further worsen already fragile relations between Islamabad and Washington, on-off allies who have repeatedly clashed about the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan's alleged support for Islamist militants.
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
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 19, 2018
"The Foreign Secretary called in the US CdA Ambassador Paul Jones to register a strong protest on the unwarranted and unsubstantiated allegations made against Pakistan," Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Over the weekend, Mr Trump said in an interview that Pakistan does not "do a damn thing" for the United States despite billions of dollars in US aid, and alleged Pakistani officials knew former al-Qaeda leader bin Laden's location before his killing by US troops in a raid inside Pakistan in 2011.
Yesterday, Mr Trump tweeted again and doubled down on those claims.
Of course we should have captured Osama Bin Laden long before we did. I pointed him out in my book just BEFORE the attack on the World Trade Center. President Clinton famously missed his shot. We paid Pakistan Billions of Dollars & they never told us he was living there. Fools!..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2018
....We no longer pay Pakistan the $Billions because they would take our money and do nothing for us, Bin Laden being a prime example, Afghanistan being another. They were just one of many countries that take from the United States without giving anything in return. That’s ENDING!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2018
"Rejecting the insinuations about OBL, Foreign Secretary reminded the US CdA that it was Pakistan’s intelligence cooperation that provided the initial evidence to trace the whereabouts of OBL," the ministry said, adding that "baseless rhetoric about Pakistan was totally unacceptable".
Pakistan's army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, without mentioning Mr Trump, said "Pakistan has done much more for peace in Afghanistan" than any other country.
"We have paid the highest military, economic, political and social cost and the world should acknowledge that," Mr Bajwa added, according to comments released by military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor.
