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ISLAMABAD – Pakistan convened Tuesday in Islamabad the highest US diplomat to protest President Donald Trump's allegations that the country allegedly hosted Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, despite billions of dollars in dollars. American aid.
According to a statement, Foreign Minister Tahmina Janjua told US diplomat Paul Jones that "such baseless rhetoric (…) was totally unacceptable". The statement also included a warning that Trump's remarks "could seriously undermine Pakistan's" cooperation in trying to end America's longest-running war in neighboring Afghanistan.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry also said in its statement that Pakistani intelligence cooperation was the first piece of evidence allowing Washington to track down bin Laden.
Washington and Kabul have long accused Islamabad of harboring activists – an accusation it denies.
US commandos killed bin Laden during a raid in May 2011 in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he lived isolated in a house near a reputable military academy. Pakistan denies knowing where Bin Laden was before the raid, which was carried out without his knowledge. He later arrested Dr. Shakil Afridi, who had conducted a false vaccination campaign in Abbottabad to help the CIA confirm bin Laden's whereabouts.
In an interview with "Fox News Sunday," Trump said that "everyone in Pakistan" knew that bin Laden was there and no one was saying anything while the United States was providing $ 1.3 billion worth of money. 39, help per year.
This statement, which he reiterated on Monday on Twitter, caused an uproar in Islamabad.
New Prime Minister Imran Khan fired back on Monday saying that Pakistan had made 75,000 casualties and 123 billion dollars during the "American war on terror", while no Pakistanis had participated in the attacks. September 11th. He says the United States has provided only a "tiny" $ 20 billion aid.
Janjua went so far as to say that "no other country has paid a higher price than Pakistan in the fight against terrorism," adding that US leaders have repeatedly acknowledged that Pakistan's cooperation helped to "decimate" al Qaeda.
"Peace remains elusive" in Afghanistan
Meanwhile, the United States is trying, so far unsuccessfully, to pass a peace agreement between the Afghan government and the Afghan Taliban to end the war that began with the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. United in 2001.
While the latest round of US-Taliban talks in Qatar had not led to any breakthrough, a new US assessment revealed on Monday that military and political signs point to a lingering stalemate in Afghanistan.
The US and Afghan governments have recently "made little progress" by forcing the Taliban to negotiate a peace deal, according to the report of the Pentagon inspector general.
"Progress on the road to peace remains difficult to achieve," wrote Glenn A. Fine, Acting Inspector General, in an introduction to a comprehensive review of military, political and humanitarian conditions in Afghanistan during the July-September period. These are the last three months of the 17th year of a war that began in October 2001.
The Afghan Taliban have historical ties to the Pakistani government, and many analysts believe that the Pakistani security forces have even more influence over the extremist group than anyone else.
The Pentagon report offered little support for the Trump administration's claims that its revised war strategy, announced in August 2017brings the Afghan government and the Taliban insurgency closer to peace and reconciliation. During his visit to Kabul in July, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the strategy was "working effectively".
In this context, Pakistan's Foreign Minister noted in her statement on Tuesday that "Pakistan and the United States are working in close coordination with other regional stakeholders to end the protracted conflict" in Afghanistan.
"At this critical moment, unfounded allegations of a closed chapter in history could seriously undermine this vital cooperation," she said.
© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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