Pakistan is not for sale as it merely seeks trust-based relationship with US: ISPR

RAWALPINDI – In a befitting response to US VP Mike Pence’s threatening remarks against Pakistan, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor responded that Pakistan was looking forward to a trust-based relationship with Trump administration, instead of money.

Minutes after Pakistan’s Foreign Office stated that allies do not put each other on notice, pertaining to Pence’s comments, the DG of military’s media wing clarified that threats against Pakistan could harm the existing coordination and cooperation between the two countries.

In an interview with a private TV, the official maintained that payments to Pakistan by the US were made under the Coalition Support Fund, which in its essence was ‘reimbursement’ of the amount Pakistan had already spent in the war against terrorism.

He underscored that Pakistan had been cooperating with the US significantly over the years in the war against terrorism claiming that the US would be unable to defeat Al Qaeda without Pakistan’s support.

Ghafoor noted that Pakistan had supported the US before and after 9/11 and the relations should be kept intact.

“Allies and partners do not give notices to each other, neither do they indulge in a blame game,” he said, taking the same stance as the Foreign Office.

Talking about the reasons behind the harsh police of US, he said the issue of gains in the war against terrorism is linked with the local environment.

“Pakistan Army defeated terrorists within the country, keeping in view the local culture and geography, similarly, Afghanistan has its own history, culture, and geography which foreign forces fighting militants must deal with,” Ghafoor observed.

He continued that the war in Afghanistan has entered into a final phase and the US, allied and Afghan forces will have to fight the war.

“The US wants Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan but we cannot go and fight for them inside Afghanistan. They will have to complete their tasks in Afghanistan on their own”, he said as he appeared in Dawn News current affairs show.