Anti-Trump Outrage in Pakistan Includes Demand to End Role as US 'Gun for Hire'

Amid reports that President Donald Trump is preparing to announce cuts to U.S. security assistance to Pakistan, a chorus of Pakistani officials slammed the move, including Imran Khan—a political leader and fierce opponent of the American drone program—who denounced Trump for attempting to “humiliate and insult” his country and urged the government to never again be used as an American “gun for hire.”

“While Pakistan does not seek a conflict with the U.S., it cannot continue being the scapegoat for U.S. failures in Afghanistan.”
—Imran Khan

“The lesson we must learn is never to be used by others for short-term paltry financial benefits,” Khan said in a scathing statement issued through a spokesperson on Thursday. “We became a U.S. proxy for a war against the Soviet Union when it entered Afghanistan and we allowed the CIA to create, train, and arm Jihadi groups on our soil and a decade later we tried to eliminate them as terrorists on U.S. orders. The time has come to stand firm and give a strong response to the U.S.”

Such a response would include removing “excessive U.S. diplomatic, non-diplomatic, and intelligence personnel,” denying the U.S. unfettered use of its facilities, and “creating a cooperative framework with China, Russia, and Iran to seek peace in Afghanistan,” Khan said.

“It is time for Pakistan to delink from the U.S.,” Khan concluded. “While Pakistan does not seek a conflict with the U.S., it cannot continue being the scapegoat for U.S. failures in Afghanistan.”

This video mash-up posted to Khan’s Twitter feed early Thursday morning highlights the numerous times he has condemned the post-9/11 arrangement between the U.S. and Pakistan, both recently and over the years, including an unapologetic critique of the damage inflicted on the Pakistani people as a result:

The White House plan to cut off security assistance to Pakistan—which could be officially announced as early as Thursday—comes just days after Trump threatened to slash aid on Twitter and accused Pakistan of peddling “lies and deceit” about its counterterrorism efforts.

On Monday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations confirmed that the Trump administration would withhold $255 million in aid from Pakistan.

Pakistan quickly moved to retaliate by attempting to further isolate the U.S. from the international community. Just 24 hours after Trump’s Twitter threats, “Pakistan’s central bank announced that it will be replacing the dollar with the yuan for bilateral trade and investment with Beijing,” CNBC reported on Wednesday.

“For the past four years, we have been clearing the debris. Our forces are fighting in an exemplary manner, there is an unending saga of sacrifices.”
—Khawaja Asif, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister