World
Pentagon defends Pakistan’s ‘critical’ role after Trump’s tirade
WASHINGTON: A day after Donald Trump’s tirade, Pentagon defended Pakistan’s vital role in maintaining peace in South Asia and said Islamabad remains a ‘critical partner’ in the region.
In an interview to a television news channel on Sunday, Trump said that Islamabad was not doing “a damn thing” for the US, a ‘false assertion’, which was strongly countered by Prime Minister Imran Khan and political leadership.
“The US and Pakistan have a strong mutual interests in the region. As you know, they are critical (and) vital to the South Asia strategy and including the facilitation of a peace process that would lead to a stable and peaceful Afghanistan,” Col Rob Manning, Director of Defense Press Operations, told reporters during an off-camera news conference.
