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By APD Writer Muhammad Sohail
**ISLAMABAD, Aug. 22 (APD) -- **Pakistan’s foreign minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif will visit the United States to discuss President Donald Trump’s new policy about Afghanistan announced on Monday evening, in which he criticized Pakistan for housing terrorists, officials said on Tuesday.
A statement released by the Pakistan’s Foreign Office said that the minister would visit the U.S. in next few days to meet U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, but it did not announce any fix date of the tour.
Earlier in the day, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan David Hale briefed Asif on statements made by President Trump regarding Pakistan in his South Asia policy announcement.
“Ambassador Hale told Asif that during a meeting in the next few days, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will discuss the bilateral relationship between the two countries and the South Asia policy of the U.S. in greater detail”, the statement said.
Asif told the ambassador that Pakistan would continue to work with the international community to eliminate the menace of terrorism, reiterating Pakistan's desire for peace in Afghanistan.
In his first formal address to the U.S. as commander-in-chief, Trump lambasted ally Pakistan for offering safe haven to “agents of chaos”.
“We can no longer be silent about Pakistan's safe havens for terrorist organizations,” Trump said as he cleared the way for the deployment of thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, backtracking from his promise to swiftly end America's longest war.
Following the statement by Trump, Tillerson said “Pakistan has suffered greatly from terrorism and can be an important partner in our shared goals of peace and stability”.
A strong reaction from Pakistani politicians and public against Trump’s remarks about Pakistan has been observed.
Imran Khan, chairman of Pakistan’s popular political party the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf, said the time has come for Pakistan to say ‘never again’ to the U.S. regarding its demands to ‘do more’ because of its deeply flawed and failed policies stretching over a decade.
“We fought two wars in Afghanistan at the U.S. behest paying heavy human and economic costs both times. We sacrificed over 70,000 our lives. Our economy suffered over 100 billion U.S. dollars in losses,” said Khan.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has also decided to discuss and deliberate in detail, and to call a meeting to prepare an effective diplomatic response to USA’s new Afghan policy.
Pakistan became the direct victim of aggression of militants from Afghanistan after it facilitated the U.S. and NATO forces in their war against Taliban regime in Afghanistan in October 2001.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
