ISLAMABAD – Pak Sahafat – The Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan described the history of relations with the United States over the past two decades as terrible and catastrophic and said: Pakistan, as an ally of the United States, has been repeatedly targeted by drones, and at the same time, our involvement in Afghanistan has been to our detriment.
According to a Pak Sahafat report on Wednesday night, Imran Khan’s remarks about the US approach to Afghanistan and strong criticism of Washington’s approach to Islamabad for unilateral interests come as Biden’s foreign minister announced in recent days that the US would assess its relations with Pakistan.
Anthony Blinken, in a virtual presence at a meeting of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, added that Islamabad has many interests in Afghanistan that run counter to US interests, which once again highlights the growing distrust between the two old allies.
In an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson in Islamabad on Wednesday, the Pakistani prime minister described Anthony Blinken’s recent remarks as a reflection of his ignorance, adding that he had never made such remarks out of ignorance.
He denied Washington’s accusation against Islamabad of harboring terrorists and establishing safe havens, adding: Pakistan was under heavy surveillance by US drones along the Afghan border, and they certainly knew if there were safe havens.
Imran Khan, who has always been a staunch opponent of Pakistan’s accession to the United States in Afghanistan and its involvement in the so-called war on terror, has sharply criticized the Americans’ treatment of Pakistan, once a non-NATO ally.
He added: Pakistan, which was an ally of the United States, was attacked by US drones 480 times. Eighty thousand military and civilian personnel in Pakistan have died as a result of the US and NATO presence in Afghanistan and the spread of terrorism to Pakistan.
Imran Khan stressed that enduring horrific relations with the United States has been catastrophic for Pakistan, but Islamabad nevertheless demands a normal relationship with Washington, as the Americans have with India.
This is the Pakistani prime minister‘s first interview with an international media outlet since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan last month and the complete withdrawal of US troops from the country.