Trump's statement on Dr Afridi shows his ignorance about Pakistan: Chaudhry Nisar

Nisar says Republican front-runner should learn to respect sovereign countries


Our Correspondent May 02, 2016
PHOTO: REUTERS

ISLAMABAD: The federal interior minister has said that Pakistan’s courts will decide the fate of a tribal areas doctor who had helped the American CIA track and kill al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in his Abbottabad compound in 2011.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s statement came a day after US Republican front-runner Donald Trump said in a Fox News interview that if elected, he would free Dr Shakeel Afridi in ‘two minutes’. Asked how would he do that? Trump said: “I would tell them [Pakistanis] let him out and I’m sure they would let him out.”

Five years on, Dr Shakil Afridi languishes in jail



The Republican front-runner plans to leverage US aid, “because we give a lot of aid to Pakistan. We give a lot of money to Pakistan.”

Nisar took strong exception to Trump’s comments about Pakistan in general and Afridi in particular. “Shakeel Afridi is a Pakistani citizen, and nobody else has the right to dictate us his future,” he said. “Trump’s perception and his comments about Pakistan [in the interview] are highly misplaced and unwarranted.”

The interior minister said Pakistan was not a colony of the United States. “He [Trump] should learn to treat sovereign states with respect,” he added.

Shakil Afridi's fate to be decided by Pakistani courts: Nisar

Nisar said Trump seemed to be ignorant of the huge sacrifices Pakistan and its people have rendered while supporting US policies over the years.

“The peanuts the US has given us in return should not be used to threaten or browbeat us into following Trump’s misguided vision of foreign policy,” he said. “Trump’s statement shows not only his insensitivity but also his ignorance about Pakistan.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3rd, 2016.

COMMENTS (14)

jun | 7 years ago | Reply @Sunil: I enjoyed your lecture on Pakistan.No doubt,an economy,population which is not even one tenth of India,you are comparing a 5 years old kid with a 50years old man.India with your socalled 50 billion budget,why it still owes Iran 8 billion,and few hundred billions to World bank?Is all the paper supposed to be used to manufacture toilet paper has been used up?Or it preserved and kept for use in the future to print out ruppees,when thousand,million population would be asked to collect from slum-trash?Pakistan has many problems,so does India.Comparing an elephant with a ant?But a bold one.and a nuclear ant.Please give some credit
OSD | 7 years ago | Reply @Ch. Allah Daad: your point is plausible but the situation seems to be different this time around. Dr Shakeel is a Pakistani and his act embarrasses the army, which is a powerful force even by American standards. With regards to the blocking of F-16 deal, the USA is interested in India because of China. They will find another excuse even if dr afridi is let go.
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