Khawaja Asif slams Donald Trump over 'lies and deceit' remark: Pakistan says US is speaking the 'language of India'

Islamabad: Pakistan foreign minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday reacted to US president Donald Trump’s “lies and deceit” comments as he said that the remarks showed that Trump was speaking “the language of India”. Asif also added that Islambad’s civil and military leaderships were on the same page. [caption id=“attachment_4118163” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Pakistan foreign minister Khawaja Asif. Reuters[/caption] Briefing the Parliamentary Committee on National Security about tension between Pakistan and the US following Trump’s remarks, Asif said the US is making Islamabad a scapegoat for its failure in Afghanistan. Trump had accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but “lies and deceit” in return for $33 billion aid. Sources privy to the discussion in the meeting said Asif told lawmakers, “Trump was speaking in the language of India.” “The statements from the US leaders are contrary to the facts”,  Asif said. National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, who heads the body, told the media after the meeting that there should be “balanced response” to the statements from the US. “The country’s dignity should be maintained, while engaging with the US,” he said. He said the committee has decided to reconvene next week for a briefing by security agencies. The closed-door meeting came at the heels of a high-level National Security Committee meet and the cabinet meeting earlier this week. Defence Minister Khurram Dastagir was also present in the meeting. Dastagir said when US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defence Secretary James Mattis visited Pakistan, they presented their stance in accordance with diplomatic norms and the talks were not threatening and insulting, Geo TV reported. “[But] this was present in Trump’s tweet and before that when US Vice President Mike Pence made the ‘put Pakistan on notice’ statement from Afghanistan,” the defence minister said, referring to the threatening tone of the US leaders. “We need to have a holistic review of the entire situation. We are conducting a complete analysis and coolly formulating our response,” he said, adding that there should not be any doubts when it comes to the defence of Pakistan. “The question is will America create a situation which will harm Pakistan. We are ready for this but still want to engage the US", he shared. Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and NSA Nasser Janjua also briefed the participants. With inputs from agencies