Pakistani PM says 'committed' to seizing Islamist charities
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -  Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi  on Monday said  his  government will push ahead with plans to seize control of charities run by an Islamist designated a terrorist by Washington  and warned the United States not to weaken Pakistan.
 Abbasi  brushed off U.S. President Donald Trumpâs recent tweet accusing Pakistan of âlies and deceptionâ in its commitment to fighting terrorism  as  he  raised the prospect of charging the United States to use Pakistanâs airspace to resupply NATO troops in Afghanistan.
 Abbasi  said Pakistan had made progress in curbing terrorist financing after meetings with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)  an international body that warned Islamabad could be put on a watchlist for not doing enough to stop the practice.
 Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi  speaks during an interview with Reuters in Islamabad  Pakistan January 22  2018. REUTERS/Caren Firouz
âWeâve had several meetings on that  and from what Iâve seen a large part of those actions have been taken â  Abbasi  said.
 Former petroleum minister Abbasi  said any sanctions against Pakistan would be counter-productive to the countryâs own battle against Islamist militants  which  he  called âthe largest war on terror in the worldâ.
âAny constraints put on Pakistan  actually only serve to degrade our capability to fight the war against terror â  he  said.
 Abbasi  said Trumpâs tweet was âunacceptableâ in its tone and that Pakistan should not be âscapegoatedâ for U.S. failures in Afghanistan.
âThat is something ... we cannot accept because nobodyâs suffered more than Pakistan â  Abbasi  said  adding that tens of thousands of Pakistani have died from militancy that has inflicted damage worth $120 billion to the economy.
 Abbasi  said much of the suspended aid was from the Coalition Support Fund (CSF)  a U.S. Defence Department program to reimburse allies for the costs of supporting counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations.
 He  said the U.S. needed to respect Pakistanâs contribution to the fight against Islamist militancy and raised the prospect of charging Washington for air transport flights that have been resupplying U.S.-led troops and Afghan forces in landlocked Afghanistan.
âIf somebody wants to start quantifying expenses and aid  I think letâs put this on the table also. Letâs discuss that â  Abbasi  said  though  he  added that such talk was âhypotheticalâ.
 Abbasi  dismissed media reports that Islamabad has ended intelligence sharing with the U.S. military as false.
And  he  also spoke fondly about a brief discussion  he  had with Trump in September at a reception at the U.N General Assembly in New York.
âI found  him  to be fairly warm â  he  said. âSomebody that you would like to engage with and talk to.â
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -   [TGT] on Monday said   [TGT]   government will push ahead with plans to seize control of charities run by an Islamist designated a terrorist by Washington  and warned the United States not to weaken Pakistan.
  [TGT] brushed off U.S. President Donald Trumpâs recent tweet accusing Pakistan of âlies and deceptionâ in  [TGT]  commitment to fighting terrorism  as   [TGT]   raised the prospect of charging the United States to use Pakistanâs airspace to resupply NATO troops in Afghanistan.
  [TGT] said Pakistan had made progress in curbing terrorist financing after meetings with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)  an international body that warned Islamabad could be put on a watchlist for not doing enough to stop the practice.
  [TGT] speaks during an interview with Reuters in Islamabad  Pakistan January 22  2018. REUTERS/Caren Firouz
âWeâve had several meetings on that  and from what Iâve seen a large part of those actions have been taken â   [TGT] said.
 Former petroleum minister Abbasi  said any sanctions against Pakistan would be counter-productive to the countryâs own battle against Islamist militants  which  he  called âthe largest war on terror in the worldâ.
âAny constraints put on Pakistan  actually only serve to degrade our capability to fight the war against terror â  he  said.
  [TGT] said Trumpâs tweet was âunacceptableâ in  [TGT]  tone and that Pakistan should not be âscapegoatedâ for U.S. failures in Afghanistan.
âThat is something ... we cannot accept because nobodyâs suffered more than Pakistan â   [TGT] said  adding that tens of thousands of Pakistani have died from militancy that has inflicted damage worth $120 billion to the economy.
  [TGT] said much of the suspended aid was from the Coalition Support Fund (CSF)  a U.S. Defence Department program to reimburse allies for the costs of supporting counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations.
  [TGT]   said the U.S. needed to respect Pakistanâs contribution to the fight against Islamist militancy and raised the prospect of charging Washington for air transport flights that have been resupplying U.S.-led troops and Afghan forces in landlocked Afghanistan.
âIf somebody wants to start quantifying expenses and aid  I think letâs put this on the table also. Letâs discuss that â   [TGT] said  though   [TGT]   added that such talk was âhypotheticalâ.
  [TGT] dismissed media reports that Islamabad has ended intelligence sharing with the U.S. military as false.
And   [TGT]   also spoke fondly about a brief discussion   [TGT]   had with Trump in September at a reception at the U.N General Assembly in New York.
âI found   [TGT]   to be fairly warm â   [TGT]   said. âSomebody that you would like to engage with and talk to.â