Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Pakistan army chief says nation felt "betrayed" by US criticism

Pakistan's army chief told a top US general the nation "felt betrayed" by criticism that it was not doing enough to fight terrorism, the Pakistani military said on Friday, after US President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of "lies and deceit".

US Central Command chief General Joseph Votel told General Qamar Javed Bajwa during a telephone call this week that the United States was not contemplating any unilateral action inside Pakistan, the Pakistani army said in a statement.


Tension between the United States and Pakistan has grown over US complaints that the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network that target American troops in Afghanistan are allowed to take shelter on Pakistani soil.

Trump's administration last week announced the suspension of about $2 billion in security aid to nuclear-armed Pakistan - officially a US ally - over accusations Islamabad is playing a double game in Afghanistan.

Islamabad denies this and accuses the United States of disrespecting its vast sacrifices - casualties have numbered in the tens of thousands - in fighting terrorism.

The US aid suspension was announced days after Trump tweeted on Jan. 1 that the United States had foolishly given Pakistan $33 billion in aid over 15 years and was rewarded with "nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools".

Trump's tweet infuriated Pakistani officials and caught the rest of the US administration off guard.

The Pakistani statement on Friday did not directly refer to Trump's tweet.

"(Bajwa) said that entire Pakistani nation felt betrayed over U.S. recent statements despite decades of cooperation," the army said, referring to the phone call between Bajwa and Votel.

The U.S. military's Central Command did not comment on the content of their conversation. But it said the US military was in "continuous communication" with Pakistan's military, to include recurring conversations between Votel and Bajwa.

"We value mutual understanding of interests and concerns that we need to consider and might lead to a positive path forward," U.S. Central Command spokesman Air Force Colonel John Thomas said.

A senior Trump administration official said last week that the United States was already examining ways to mitigate any Pakistani retaliation as it piles pressure on Islamabad to crack down on militants.

The official also cautioned that US action to pressure Pakistan could extend beyond the new freeze in aid, if necessary.

The Pakistani assertion that Votel said no unilateral action inside Pakistan was being considered may have referred to the possibility of cross-border US drone strikes and other military missions targeting Taliban and other militant figures outside the border area.

In 2016, a US drone killed the then-leader of the Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, prompting protests from Islamabad of a violation of sovereignty.

And in 2011, a secret American raid in the military garrison city of Abbottabad killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the architect of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on American cities that prompted the U.S.-led invasion to topple the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Since Trump took office, there have been several drone strikes in Pakistan's border region but they have not so far gone deeper into Pakistani territory, though Islamabad believes that is on a menu of punitive actions the US administration is considering.

However, the US military is also concerned that the Pakistani army, which effectively runs foreign policy, might close the air and land corridors on which US-led troops and Afghan forces in landlocked Afghanistan depend for supplies. So far, Pakistan has not done so.

More For You

Liz Kendall

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall will outline welfare reforms in a green paper next week, followed by chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement on 26 March.

Ministers may drop plan to freeze disability benefits: Report

MINISTERS are considering dropping plans to freeze Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for a year, according to a report.

Initial proposals suggested PIP would not rise in line with inflation, but strong opposition from Labour MPs has prompted a review.

Keep ReadingShow less
BBC settles age and sex discrimination case
BBC headquarters in Central London.
Getty Images

BBC settles age and sex discrimination case

THE BBC on Friday (14) said it had settled a case with four female journalists who claimed they lost their jobs because of their sex and age.

Martine Croxall, Annita McVeigh, Karin Giannone and Kasia Madera, who have all presented on the BBC's television channels, claimed they lost their jobs following a "rigged" recruitment exercise.

Keep ReadingShow less
Indian student in US self-deports after visa revocation

In this screenshot from a video posted by @Sec_Noem via X on March 14, 2025, Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen who participated in pro-Palestinian protests at United State’s Columbia University, leaves the country after her visa was revoked by the Department of State. (@Sec_Noem via PTI Photo)

Indian student in US self-deports after visa revocation

AN INDIAN student at Columbia University, whose visa was revoked for allegedly supporting Hamas, has self-deported, says the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen, came to the US on an F-1 student visa as a doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University, and her visa was revoked on March 5.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Companies with diverse leadership are better positioned for growth'

From LtoR- Lord Karan Bilimoria, Sir Trevor Phillips, Seema Malhotra MP, David Tyler and Nathan Coe

'Companies with diverse leadership are better positioned for growth'

COMPANIES with diverse leadership are better positioned for sustainable growth, improved decision-making, and will connect better with multicultural markets, equalities minister Seema Malhotra has said.

She added that the government will soon launch a public consultation on their approach to mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting.

Keep ReadingShow less
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with  Wang Yi (right)

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with Wang Yi (right)

S Jaishankar: ‘Delhi’s global interests shape its regional ties'

INDIA today sees itself as a global power or, at least, a country with global interests, which is why Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has spoken of its equation with Russia, China and notably the Middle East.

India’s external affairs minister was in conversation last Wednesday (5) in London with Bronwen Maddox, director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House.

Keep ReadingShow less