Pakistan wants US to stop ‘do more mantra’

Islamabad plans to host international conference to highlight its contribution in terror war

KARACHI: After strong criticism from US President Donald Trump, Pakistan has decided to convene an international conference to put the global spotlight on its significant contributions towards the war against terrorism, sources told Daily Express.

The government would soon hold consultations before announcing the schedule of the conference, source said, adding that all important countries would be invited to the moot where Islamabad would reaffirm its commitment to terror fight and recount the colossal losses it has suffered thus far.

In the meantime, Islamabad will mount a diplomatic offensive to muster support of friendly countries in the face of Trump’s allegations that Pakistan was hosting terrorist ‘safe havens’ on its soil.



Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif and his other cabinet members will be touring important world capitals. Asif is expected to travel to China, Russia and even Iran before flying to Washington to voice Pakistan’s concerns to the Trump administration.

Islamabad will raise its reservations about the new US policy for Afghanistan at the United Nations and other international forums.

The country’s top civil leadership and military brass have unanimously made it clear to the US administration that scapegoating Pakistan for the unabated violence in Afghanistan would not help in stabilising the war-torn country.

Trump in his policy speech this week committed to an ‘open ended’ military engagement in Afghanistan to win the war against the Taliban. Pakistani officials, however, believe peace is only possible through dialogue and reconciliation.

Pakistan has been pushing for reactivating the Quadrilateral Coordination Group that comprises Pakistan, China, Afghanistan and the United States, which has been dormant after Kabul’s reluctance to involve Islamabad in the reconciliation process.

“Despite President Trump’s blistering criticism of Pakistan, there is no visible diplomatic tension between the two countries and the ties remain unaffected,” a source told Daily Express.

Sources said Pakistani officials have told the Americans that the administrations of Ashraf Ghani and Donald Trump will have to dismantle the sanctuaries of Pakistani Taliban terrorists on the Afghan soil.



Islamabad says that Pakistani Taliban use the Afghan soil as a springboard for launching deadly attacks inside Pakistan. Almost all major terrorist attacks have been traced to Afghanistan.

Sources said both Kabul and Washington have assured Pakistan that action would be taken against these terrorists. Sources also said that the new Pakistan policy would call for an end to an unending demand of ‘do more’ from Washington.

And this would be conveyed to the Trump administration by the foreign minister during his forthcoming visit. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson invited Khawaja Asif earlier this month to visit Washington.

The US allegations of sheltering terrorists are not new. And the Pakistani officialdom believes Trump has repeated these allegations to appease India with which its diplomatic romance is growing, according to sources.

Pakistani strategists say both India and the United States are not happy with the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that has been dubbed ‘game changer’ for the entire region.

President Trump’s allegations are part of the American strategy to pile pressure on Pakistan to find a scapegoat for its military failure in Afghanistan, sources said.

China and Russia have criticised Trump’s attempt to build up pressure on Pakistan. And diplomatic sources believe Washington would try to ease tensions triggered by Trump’s allegations because it could not afford to estrange Islamabad.