Pakistan suspends intelligence sharing, military cooperation with US

ISLAMABAD (APP): Defence minister Khurram Dastagir Khan has announced on Tuesday that Pakistan has suspended military and intelligence cooperation with United States (US) as a reaction to halt of aid and accusation of not doing enough in war on terror despite having rendered invaluable sacrifices.

Dastagir made a formal announcement of suspension of the cooperation however, he said that land and air passage have been kept permitted for now and the option would be exhausted at optimum time.

Reaction of Pakistan has come in a week after US president Donald Trump alleged Pakistan of not doing enough against terrorism and extremism and said that the States wasted the aid giving it to Pakistan.

He said that Pakistan made fools out of US leaders for the past 15 years.

Trump’s tirade sparked countrywide protests in Pakistan and military maintained that Pakistan Army is a powerful force without US aid as well.

Foreign minister Khawaja Asif had said that Pakistan would soon differentiate facts and fiction for the world to know.

Lawmakers across the board condemned US move of halting military aid to Pakistan.

Former US envoy to Islamabad Richard Olson had said that Pakistan has more leverage against States and Trump s move against Pakistan was unlikely to work.

“Pakistan, like most countries, reacts very badly to public attempts to force its hand,” New York Times quoted Olson.

“It is likely to respond by showing how it can truly undercut our position in Afghanistan,” said Olson, who also served as the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.