LAHORE: Pakistan has reacted to United States Vice President Mike Pence’s statement, accusing Pakistan of “providing safe heavens to terrorists”.
“The statement is at variance with the extensive conversations we have had with the US administration,” said Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal on Friday.
In an unannounced trip to Afghanistan on Thursday, Pence said that US President Donald Trump “put Pakistan on notice for harbouring terrorists and providing safe heavens to them.
FO spokesperson responded to the remarks saying allies do not put each other on notice, adding “externalizing blame should be put on notice”.
“The factors responsible for an exponential increase in drug production, expansion of ungoverned spaces, industrial-scale corruption, breakdown of governance, and letting Daesh gain a foothold in Afghanistan, should be on notice,” said Dr Faisal.
He went on to say that focus must be on creating peace and reconciliation mechanisms.
Pakistan had told US Defence Secretary James Mattis, during his visit to Pakistan last month, that if the US would not change its policy of “blame game”, Pakistan would review its relationships with the US.
