Pakistani protesters in Karachi denounce Trump’s threats
Pakistanis have staged a massive protest rally in the southern port city of Karachi, denouncing US President Donald Trump's angry tweet against Pakistan.
The Tuesday demonstration was organized by Difa-e-Pakistan Council (Defense of Pakistan Council), a group of religious-political parties.
Holding up Pakistani flags, the protesters shouted anti-US slogans and burned an American flag and a picture of Trump. They held banners and placards which read, "Any friend of America is a traitor," "Any friend of Donald Trump is a traitor," and "Dump Trump." The angry demonstrators also held banners bearing the picture of Trump with a cross on his face.
Muzammil Iqbal, a protest leader and the Karachi chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JUD), denounced Trump's remarks, saying, "This statement of Trump is in fact an insult to Pakistan's role and its cooperation with America. This has always been the attitude of America that it leaves its friends after its task is accomplished."
Trump on Monday threatened to cut off foreign aid to Pakistan, accusing Islamabad of harboring violent extremists.
The American president said in his first tweet of 2018 that Washington had "foolishly given Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid over the last 15 years."
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will chair a cabinet meeting that will focus on Trump's tweet. On January 3, the country's top civilian and military chiefs will meet to discuss the deteriorating ties with the United States.
US Ambassador to Islamabad David Hale was summoned to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry to discuss Trump's remarks. Pakistan has also lodged a strongly-worded protest and asked for clarification of Trump's comments.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif earlier said in a posting on Twitter that his government was preparing a response that “will let the world know the truth.”
Relations between Washington and Islamabad have taken a nosedive under the Trump administration.
In August, Trump declared that "Pakistan often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror."
Successive US governments have criticized Pakistan for links with the Taliban militants and for harboring slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Senior civilian and military officials in Islamabad have frequently said the US government is making Pakistan a scapegoat to cover Washington’s failure in Afghanistan.
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