Islamabad, Oct. 26 (TNS): Pakistan cannot be held responsible for the US failure in Afghanistan, said Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday.
Khawaja Asif was briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Defence on his recent talks in the United States and his interactions with US think-tanks on relations between the two countries.
“The things which due to diplomatic norms couldn’t be said were discussed during these talks after which the US changed its stance,” Asif said, adding that a US delegation, led by Lisa Curtis, the senior director for South and Central Asia at the National Security Council, stressed upon restoring contacts between the two countries during a recent visit to Islamabad.
“After the new US policy, I visited four important countries of the region, consulting on the matter. All of the countries favoured Pakistan’s stance as they too had their reservations on the policy,” the foreign minister said.
He further said that after the announcement of the new policy, Pakistan had to cut off ties with the United States to send a clear message that it won’t accept becoming a scapegoat.
He criticised the American leadership for its failure in Afghanistan and said that US secretary of state could not step out of a US military base in Afghanistan after fighting in the country for almost 16 years.
“For a meeting, he invites Afghan president in the bunker and such a situation only depicts US failure in Afghanistan,” he said.
While ending his briefing, Asif suggested that relations between the US and Pakistan could only be built on mutual respect and coordination.
“We want relations with the United States on equal terms. We will put in our best efforts for peace in the region but will not bear the brunt of someone else’s shortcomings. The current government will not accept any dictation from the US,” he maintained.
