Don't care for US threats: Nawaz

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a press conference on Wednesday asserted that the PML-N government does not care for United States (US) threats to cut funding to Islamabad in the war against terrorism.

The former premier's statements come amid a war of words between Islamabad and Washington, as US President Donald Trump lashed out at Pakistan in a harshly-worded tweet on New Year's day after which the administration suspended $255 million in military aid to Pakistan.

Describing Trump's tweet as "non-serious" and "sad", Sharif said, "A head of state should remember the rules of engagement while addressing a fellow state."

"We should not be taunted [about US aid]," he said, speaking to reporters in Islamabad, a day after his return from Saudi Arabia, where he met top Kingdom officials with his brother Shahbaz Sharif.

The ex-PM said he would "advise Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to formulate a plan that ensures we don't need any US aid so that our image is not attacked in this manner."

"Pakistan is the only country to have paid such a heavy price since 9/11. No other country has faced the kind of human and economic losses as Pakistan has," he said.

"We have been engaged in a war for 17 years, even though it is technically not even our war."

"The US president should know that as soon as we, the PML-N, came into power in 2013, we took effective steps to end terrorism in Pakistan," he said.

"At that time, we began Operation Zarb-i-Azb, and today the backs of terrorists have been broken and the rest will soon be taken care of. This is not 2001. A dictator is not ruling the country, and one telephone call will not scare us."

Copyright: Dawn/ Asia News Network