Pakistan summons US ambassador over Trump's angry tweet

Pakistan summoned the US ambassador in protest against US President Donald Trump's angry tweet about Pakistan's "lies and deceit," while Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif dismissed the outburst as a political stunt.

David Hale was summoned by the Pakistan foreign office on Monday to explain Trump's tweet, media said.

A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Islamabad confirmed the meeting took place.

TRT World spoke to journalist Kamran Yousaf who is following the developments in the capital, Islamabad.

In a withering attack, Trump on Monday said the United States has "foolishly" handed Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid in the last 15 years and had been rewarded with "nothing but lies and deceit."

"They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

Trump's tweet sparked protests in Pakistan's largest city Karachi. 

Demonstrators chanted anti-US slogans and also burned the American flag.

Cabinet meeting

Following Trump's tweet, Pakistan called for a top level National Security Committee meeting in Islamabad.

The meeting was chaired by Prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and attended by other senior members of the cabinet and military. 

The committee noted its deep disappointment over the recent statements leveled against Pakistan. 

Senior civil and military leadership say it's fought the war against terror with great sacrifices and at great cost to its economy.

National Security Committee will also be held on Wednesday according to a tweet issued by the Pakistan government's Press Information Department.

Relations between US and its uneasy ally Pakistan have been strained for many years over Islamabad's alleged support for Haqqani network militants, who are allied with the Afghan Taliban.

Washington has signalled to Pakistan that it would cut aid and enact other punitive measures if Islamabad did not stop helping or turning a blind eye to the Haqqani network militants who carry out cross-border attacks in Afghanistan.

Islamabad bristles at the suggestion it is not doing enough in the war against militancy, saying that since 2001, Pakistan has suffered more than the US from militancy, with casualty numbers running in tens of thousands.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja dismissed Trump's comments as a political stunt borne out of frustration over US failures in Afghanistan, where Afghan Taliban militants have been gaining territory and carrying out major attacks.

"He has tweeted against us (Pakistan) and Iran for his domestic consumption," Asif told Geo TV on Monday.

"He is again and again displacing his frustrations on Pakistan over failures in Afghanistan as they are trapped in dead-end street in Afghanistan."

Asif added that Pakistan did not need US aid.

A US National Security Council official on Monday said the White House did not plan to send $255 million in aid to Pakistan "at this time" and said "the administration continues to review Pakistan's level of co-operation."

In August, the US administration had said it was delaying the payment.