US-Pakistan Ties: Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, while addressing Parliament, said its ally United States, used his nation for its own strategic goals and then discarded it like "toilet paper”. Terming Pakistan’s alignment with Washington as a grave mistake, he said the partnership with the US left the country weakened and unstable.
Highlighting the side-effect of the Pakistan-US relations, he said Islamabad's decision to side with the US after 1999, especially in the Afghanistan conflict, caused serious and lasting damage.
Pakistan Dragged In Other's Wars: Asif
Asif further said Pakistan was dragged into wars that were never truly its own, rejecting the long-standing claim that Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan was based on religious duty. Speaking on the 'jihad', he said a few people were mobilised in the name of “jihad” after being influenced by a misleading narrative. Such jihad only fueled extremism and chaos inside Pakistan, he underscored.
Contradictory To His Government's US Policy
Ironically, Asif's statement came at a time when Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir have been attempting to woo US President Donald Trump to improve Islamabad's ties with Washington. In the last few months, the duo met Trump at least three times in the US. In fact, in September Trump held a brief 0.36-second meeting with Sharif on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly Session. The prime minister was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, besides other ministers and senior officials.
Shehbaz Expected To Visit US On Feb 19
Asif may have ill-thinking for the ally, the US, but his Prime Minister has a different plan. Now, Sharif is expected to attend the inaugural session of the Board of Peace on Gaza, of which Pakistan is a member. The session will be held next week in Washington on February 19.