ISLAMABAD: (Pakistan Point News - 17th Jan, 2018) Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said on Wednesday that we have to start surviving without US aid as we cannot afford to hear the same taunts again. Talking to media outside the parliament, Asif said that the recent visit of a senior US State Department official shows that Washington wants to improve its bilateral relations with Islamabad. “Pakistan doesn’t desire to deteriorate its relations with the United States but it would neither want to compromise its national sovereignty.
Pakistan’s sacrifices should be recognised,” the minister said, adding, “We are giving our land and air routes without any charge.” Asif said that US President Donald Trump is wrongly considering the Coalition Support Fund as aid. “Out of $23 billion we have received only $14 billion,” Asif informed. Responding to a question, Asif said that the nexus between Israel and India is decades long. Speaking in the meeting of Senate’s standing committee on foreign affairs Wednesday, Khawaja Asif emphatically stated that Pakistan will never make any compromise on its national interests.
He said his country desires balance in its relations with the United States. He said we have made it clear on the civil and military leadership of the US that Pakistan does not require any aid. But the US should not blame Pakistan for its own failures. Regarding a Fatwa issued against terrorism, the Minister made it clear that the state is not bringing jihadi outfits into the national mainstream. Suicide attacks are Haraam either they take place in Pakistan or elsewhere. The foreign minister said China has expressed its desire to extend the CPEC to Afghanistan. He said Pakistan also supports the Chinese plan.
