Trump Calls Out Pakistan Even as Security Situation Improves
- Foreign direct investment has risen since security crackdown
- Trump calls on Islamabad to abandon safe havens for terrorists
NORTH WAZIRISTAN, PAKISTAN - APRIL 20: Soldiers stand guard as a citizen passes through with his vehicle at the Saidgai military check point in the Afghanistan border of North Waziristan, Pakistan on April 20, 2016. Large-scale military operations against Taliban militants, have been launched since June 2014, have reached to the final stage. Over 3500 militants were neutralized during the operations and some of the civilians that had to leave homes because of operation, have started to return as all the entries and exits to area are controlled by this check point. North Waziristan - one of Pakistans seven semi-autonomous tribal regions - has seen numerous clashes between the army and Taliban since June of 2014 amid a full-scale military onslaught. The just-concluded military operation also served to displace some one million tribesmen from North Waziristan, nearly 30 percent of whom have since returned to their homes.
Photographer: Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesWhen U.S. President Donald Trump accused Pakistan on Monday of continuing to provide a “safe haven to agents of chaos, violence and terror” it evoked memories of general lawlessness across the country in the years after 9/11 that drove investors from South Asia’s second-largest economy.
While militants the U.S. identifies as terrorists find refuge in Pakistan, safety within the nation has improved dramatically after it launched a costly, now four-year long military crackdown on domestic insurgent and criminal groups, driving recent economic optimism. In the last fiscal year, foreign investment rose to $2.4 billion, the highest since 2009, while the stock market’s benchmark index has increased 134 percent in four years, Asia’s best performer in the period.