Pakistan hits back, says US has given nothing but mistrust

Pakistan has hit back at United States President Donald Trump for accusing Islamabad of lying and cheating in 'war on terrorism', saying that U.S. has given it "nothing but invective and mistrust".

Pakistan Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir-Khan on Monday accused the U.S. of overlooking "safe havens of terrorists who murder Pakistanis" and said Islamabad as anti-terror ally provided the U.S. with "land and air communication, military bases and intel cooperation that decimated Al-Qaeda over last 16 years".

"But they have given us nothing but invective & mistrust. They overlook cross-border safe havens of terrorists who murder Pakistanis," Dastgir-Khan said in a tweet.

Earlier, Trump, once again, castigated Pakistan for providing safe havens to terrorists.

Trump, in a strongly-worded tweet, yesterday said the United States had been "foolishly" giving aid to Pakistan for 15 years, but in return, it has only received "lies and deceit".

"The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!" Trump said on the Twitter.

The tweet has drawn huge criticism in Pakistan.

The army and the government criticised Trump's statement and said the U.S. was blaming its failures in Afghanistan on Pakistan.

Later in the day, Pakistan also summoned United States ambassador David Hale over Trump's accusations and lodged its protest.

- - ANI