Do I have to? Pakistan candidate says meeting with President Trump would be ‘bitter pill’

by WorldTribune Staff, January 14, 2018

A candidate for prime minister in Pakistan said he would “dread it,” but would meet with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Imran Khan

Imran Khan, a former cricket star and leader of the Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI) party said during a Jan. 13 press briefing “Yes, we would talk … Whether we would be able to communicate, I am not so sure, but of course we, countries, have to work with the United States.”

“I will dread it, but I will have to swallow the bitter pill and meet him,” Khan said.

Many Pakistanis were insulted after Trump on New Year’s Day in a Twitter posting accused Islamabad of taking $33 billion in aid over the past 15 years while offering back “nothing but lies & deceit.”

The White House also said it was suspending some $2 billion in assistance to Pakistan’s military until it did more to fight terrorism.

Khan said that “the way the United States has treated Pakistan as a doormat is not fair.”

Pakistan’s national elections will most likely be held by July 2018.

Pakistan’s politics have been in turmoil since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigned in July 2017 after being hit with corruption charges.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi of Sharif’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party was sworn in as prime minister until new elections are held. Sharif’s brother, Shahbaz, is also a potential candidate for prime minister.


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