Contrary to Trump’s misconception, Pakistan is not a colony of the United States, he said, urging Trump to learn to treat sovereign countries with respect.
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“Shakeel Afridi is a Pakistani citizen, and nobody else has the right to dictate us his future”, he said. Reports in the Pakistani media meanwhile said the country had borrowed $1.4 billion in the global market over the past six months, much of it without competitive bidding and amid transparency concerns.
Trump, a real estate billionaire who is the front-runner in the GOP’s race for the presidential nomination, told Fox News last week that if elected, he would get Pakistan to free Shakil Afridi “in two minutes”, because Islamabad receives a lot of aid from the United States.
Donald Trump never seems to fail to attract enough criticism for giving outrageous statements prior to the presidential election 2016.
The five year anniversary of the Abbottabad raid may not have earned Afridi a named role in the CIA’s Twitter account, but it did get him the attention of a man who’s very good at getting attention himself: Donald Trump.
But congressional sources told Dawn that this year the lawmakers want a more substantial cut to force Pakistan to release Dr Afridi.
Disagreement over the sale of eight F-16’s to Pakistan still continues in the US, with the US Congress now discussing the possibility of cutting additional subsidies to secure the release of Shakil Afridi. “I think we have to deal very closely with India to deal with it (Pakistan)”, said Trump, often criticised and ridiculed by his opponents for his views on foreign policy.
Afridi’s conviction was overturned in 2013, but he remains in prison awaiting a new trial.
Weeks after the raid, Afridi was arrested and thrown in jail, accused of having ties to militants, a charge he has always denied. After the death of world’s one of the most wanted criminals, al- Qaeda: the group founded by him, has declined in both size and influence.
“I would stay in Afghanistan”, he said. “Mr. Trump’s statement only serves to show not only his insensitivity, but also his ignorance about Pakistan”.
“In Washington the issue has likely moved off the front burner because it’s clear that Pakistan isn’t willing to play ball and negotiate an arrangement that could set him free”, he said. Some lawmakers have wised up to Pakistan’s perfidy in pretending to fight against terrorists while nurturing them. On Monday, the department confirmed that Pakistan will have to use its own funds if it wants the planes.
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“We believe that such conditions limit the president and the secretary’s ability to conduct foreign policy in the best interest of the United States”, he said.
