US scapegoating Pakistan for its failure: politicians

ISLAMABAD: In response to US President Donald Trump’s address on Tuesday pertaining to the US strategy in Afghanistan, Pakistani politicians strongly reacted and termed his harsh comments against Pakistan an attempt to hide the US failures in Afghanistan.

Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan on Tuesday strongly criticised the US president’s undue criticism on Pakistan and urged Pakistan to reject being made scapegoats for the policy failures of the US and India.

In a barrage of tweets, Imran blasted the US government for blaming Pakistan for its own “deeply flawed and failed” policy towards Afghanistan. “Just as India blames Pak for the indigenous Kashmiri uprisings when these are a result of its own failed policy of military repression in IOK .. So the US again blames Pak for its deeply flawed & failed Afghan policy stretching over a decade,” he tweeted.

He wrote, “this should teach Pak once and for all a valuable lesson: never to fight others wars for the lure of dollars. This shd teach Pak once and for all a valuable lesson: never to fight others wars for the lure of dollars. “We fought 2 wars in Afghanistan at the US behest paying heavy human and economic costs both times. We sacrificed 70,000 Pak lives in US WOT,” Imran stated and said, “we fought 2 wars in Afghanistan at the US behest paying heavy human and economic costs both times. We sacrificed 70,000 Pak lives in US WOT

“Our economy suffered over dollars 100 billion in losses. In addition, there were intangible costs on our society. Time for Pak to say: Never again. We must also reject being made scapegoats for the policy failures of the US and India,” he added.

Meanwhile, senior leader of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and former interior minister
 Senator Abdul Rehman Malik Tuesday expressed strong reservations over the US President Donald Trump' statement in which he has lambasted Pakistan and said that such irresponsible threatening statement from none other than US President Donald Trump will harm our efforts and fight against terrorism.

Commenting on US president’s threatening statement against Pakistan, Rehman Malik said that he as then interior minister of Pakistan in 2012 had proposed to United States of America to formulate a common counter strategy against the common enemy -terrorists, adding that he had proposed it in a meeting with Secretary State Condoleezza Rice and later in meeting with Marc Grossman, US Special Secretary to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In the meanwhile, responding to President Trump's policy announcement on Afghanistan, Senator Sherry Rehman, Vice President of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians has said that it is both disturbing and disappointing to hear a repeat of Pakistan being pressured to do more to stabilise Afghanistan.

"After years of shouldering the heavy lift in Afghanistan and suffering the blowback of an earlier transformational war thirty years ago, Pakistan should not have had to hear recrimination as a non-Nato ally that has given unparalleled sacrifices in life, resources and national trauma to fighting a joint battle against terrorism on the Afghan border. There is little mention of the cost Pakistan has incurred or the successes it continues to achieve in clearing terrorism from the region," she stated.

INP adds: Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan’s Syed Ali Raza Abidi raised concerns on US-India ties.

Trump is asking Pakistan to Do More by further strengthening its ties with India in Afghanistan. The concern for US is CEPC not terrorism. 

Einstein would sum up US strategy trying the same thing over & over again & expecting a different result is a sign of stupidity insanity, Mushahid Hussain tweeted. Former Ambassador to India Abdul Basit said US is either clueless or deliberately complicating matters in Afghanistan.