LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Dr Tahirul Qadri says the US government and its think tanks and intelligentsia must review their stance on terrorism and Pakistan because, at this point of history, weakening of state of Pakistan would only help terrorism.

He told a press conference if Pakistan got weaker under the US pressure, it would neither help Americans nor Afghanistan – but only terrorists.

“The Pakistan Army has committed 75pc of its resources to fight terrorism. Any other country will quote it as an example. The Trump tweet violated all diplomatic norms and decency. For Pakistanis, the state is above all political preferences,” he told the media.

Pakistan, he said, never had friendship or partnership with the USA. “It has only been engagement, where both sides have their own interests which are supreme. Though the dip in relationship between the two states is temporary, the ties should be based on mutual respect and trust.”

He also said, “Indian is thousands of miles away from Afghanistan. It doesn’t share geography, culture or language. The US effort to entrust it with the duty of policeman would only complicate the regional situation. Fight against terrorism is our religious duty and article of our faith, not a strategic or tactical policy preference. Pakistan has laid down more than 73,000 lives in the war and suffered over $130 billion loss in the war against terror. The USA has faced only one 9/11, whereas Pakistan has faced more than 100 mini 9/11s. Pakistan hosted millions of refugees for decades. All these sacrifices could only be rendered through one’s own conviction, not for anything else.”

Putting Pakistan on a list for having religious liberties threatened is ridiculous. All religious minorities are safe here. People from minorities have served at the highest posts, even chief justice of Pakistan, he said.

JI: Pakistan should immediately dissociate itself from the US which had always made it a scapegoat and deceived this country in the hour of the need, says Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) emir Senator Sirajul Haq.

In a message to the nation in response to the US action against the country on Friday, he said the US wanted Pakistan to convert its defeat in Afghanistan into victory.

“Those taking the US as a friend and advocating for its slavery had only brought disgrace to the country and the nation. The US has never stood by Pakistan and on the contrary, it has always patronised India. During the 1965 and 1971 wars, the US had left this country all alone and now it is blaming Pakistan for its defeat in Afghanistan. When Pakistan conducted nuclear tests in response to India, the US imposed sanctions against the country.”

Mr Siraj said Pakistan had sacrificed more than 70,000 men in the US war on terror besides incurring financial loss of above $120bn but the US never acknowledged that.

He added that the measures taken by Donald Trump against Pakistan would ultimately go against the US itself and it would stand isolated.

“Trump’s declaration had brought the entire Pakistani nation on one page and a complete national unity and harmony had emerged. It’s high time for the nation to stand on its feet and the rulers should try to compensate for the losses caused to the country because of their wrong policies,” the JI chief concluded.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2018