TIMES OF INDIA.COM, NEW DELHI :
In retaliation for being denied $2 billion in aid+ , Pakistan has suspended all intelligence and defence cooperation with the US, said its defence minister at a public talk, reported The News International.
It’s unclear whether the minister’s comment is the official position, because the Voice of America (VOA) said the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad is denying Pakistan’s claims.
Pakistan’s The News reported today that defence minister Khurram Dastgir Khan said yesterday that it was high time for Pakistan to have a “‘ruthlessly candid dialogue’ with the US” which blames Pakistan for nurturing Afghanistan-oriented terror groups and providing them safe haven.
There is “… a wide field of intelligence cooperation and defense cooperation, which we have suspended…US military aid suspension to Pakistan has no importance…High level dialogues with US would not work until resumption and consistency in working level dialogues,” Khan said in a speech at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad. “America needs to deal with that ungoverned area before it points fingers towards Pakistan’s role in Afghan peace process,” he further said.
Khan didn’t say whether it has been formally communicated to the US that they have suspended all intelligence and defence cooperation. “We have not received any formal communication regarding a suspension,” said Richard Snelsire, the US embassy spokesman in Islamabad, to the VOA.
Earlier, a senior US State Department official was also asked if it’s true that Pakistan has suspended all cooperation with the US, but the official appeared to not be aware of it. “We would like – we would like Pakistan to come to the table and assist us in this effort (to end terror),” said the official Steven Goldstein.
“This is a suspension and not a cutoff. No funds have been reprogrammed, and we’re hopeful for future cooperation from Pakistan,” said Goldstein.
