Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is chairing a high-level meet with powerful Pakistani generals and political leaders at his residence to formulate an appropriate "detailed reply" to U.S. policy on Afghanistan and President Donald Trump's accusation of Pakistan being a "safe haven" for terrorists.
PM Abbasi is yet to respond to the shift in U.S. stance as President Trump has criticized Pakistan for harboring militant groups, including Haqqani network and using it against a U.S.-backed government in Kabul, asking Islamabad to promptly change the approach or United States will impose sanctions on terror groups or will carry out air raids on terror groups inside Pakistan.
Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee Zubair Hayat, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Air Chief ACM Sohail Aman, and Naval Chief Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah are among those in attendance in the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting.
U.S. Ambassador David Hale called on General Qamar Javed Bajwa to brief him on the new South Asia policy of the US.
"We are not looking for any material or financial assistance from the US, but trust, understanding and an acknowledgement of our contributions,"the Dawn quoted army chief as saying.
Ambassador David Hale also met Khawaja Asif and told him that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will discuss the bilateral relationship between the two countries and the US's South Asia policy in greater detail.
During the meeting, Asif had reiterated Pakistan's desire for peace in Afghanistan and told the ambassador that he had accepted the invitation extended to him by Tillerson last week and looked forward to interactions with Washington.
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"We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting," Trump had said in his speech on Monday night.
He demanded that Pakistan should "stop offering safe haven to agents of chaos" as he presented his policy for the 16-year-long war in Afghanistan in his first formal address as the commander-in-chief.
While inviting India to provide more economic assistance and development to Afghanistan, Trump discarded his previous criticism of America's longest war as "a waste of time and money".
After Trump's allegations against Pakistan for allegedly harbouring terrorists, China and Saudi Arabia have come to the country's defence in separate statements and asked that the world acknowledge Pakistan's contribution in the fight against terrorism.
After a meeting with PM Abbasi on Wednesday, Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud acknowledged Pakistan's efforts and sacrifices in its resolute fight against terrorism.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying had asserted that Pakistan was on the front line in the struggle against terrorism and had made "great sacrifices" and "important contributions" in the fight.