Donald Trump attacks Pakistan on Twitter
First presidential tweet of 2018 says Pakistan provides 'safe haven' for terrorists
Donald Trump has launched an extraordinary verbal attack on Pakistan, accusing its government of “lies and deceit” in accepting billions of dollars in US aid.
The US President also accused Pakistan of providing a “safe haven to terrorists”, alluding to the support it reportedly provides to terror groups such as the Taliban-allied Haqqani network.
The US is reportedly considering withholding $255m (£188m) in aid that has already been delayed since August, “as a show of dissatisfaction with Pakistan’s broader intransigence toward confronting the terrorist networks that operate there”, The New York Times reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Pakistani defence minister Khurram Dastgir Khan turned the criticism back on Trump, claiming the US has given Pakistan “nothing but invective & mistrust”, and claiming US officials “overlook cross-border safe havens of terrorists who murder Pakistanis”.
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomed the tweet from Trump, the BBC reports, saying the message “on Pakistan’s duplicitous position over the past 15 years is vindication that the war on terror is not in bombing Afghan villages and homes but in the sanctuaries beyond Afghanistan”.
Tensions between Washington and Islamabad were heightened in October when Pakistan refused to allow the US access to a captured militant from the Haqqani network.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Making a police state out of the liberal university'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
8 looming climate tipping points that imperil our planet
The Explainer New reports detail the thresholds we may be close to crossing
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Try 6 free issues of The Week Junior
Spark your child's curiosity with The Week Junior - the award-winning current affairs magazine for 8-14s.
By The Week Published
-
'Can we — the people who have bought so much already — really keep buying more?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
'Presidential debates are more performance art than actual ways to inform'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Trump, DeSantis meet for first time since primary
Speed Read The former president and the Florida governor have seemingly mended their rivalry
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Justices set to punt on Trump immunity case
Speed Read Conservative justices signaled support for Trump's protection from criminal charges
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Biden is smart to keep the border-security pressure on'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Arizona grand jury indicts 18 in Trump fake elector plot
Speed Read The state charged Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani and other Trump allies in 2020 election interference case
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Who will win the 2024 presidential election?
In Depth Election year is here. Who are pollsters and experts predicting to win the White House?
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published