Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khuram Dastgir Monday said the Afghan war should not be fought on Pakistan soil, adding that Pakistan has paid a huge price in the war against terrorism.

Dastgir said Pakistan's defense was robust and vigilant and the country’s highly trained armed forces continue to protect and defend its borders, Pakistan’s Geo News reported.

He said as an ally to the US, Islamabad had paid a huge price in the war against terrorism and cleared its territory of terrorists and their safe havens. 

He went on to say the Afghan war could not be fought on Pakistan soil, adding that Pakistan respected Afghanistan’s sovereignty and wished to see its neighbor become a prosperous, democratic nation but that Islamabad wanted this courtesy to be reciprocated. 

The minister said that despite the US’s fight in Afghanistan over the past 16 years, little has been achieved. Pakistan should not be made scapegoat for US failures in Afghanistan, he reiterated.

He said the way forward for Pakistan-US relations should not be through threats, notices and suspension of support, GEO News reported.

Earlier this month US President Donald Trump took to Twitter and accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the United States but "lies and deceit" and providing "safe haven" to terrorists in return for $33 billion USD in aid over the last 15 years.

After Trump’s tweet on Pakistan, Washington announced that it would suspend almost all security assistance to Pakistan, which could affect at least $1.3 billion USD in annual aid.