Donald Trump's latest tirade against Pakistan is threatening cooperation for an Afghan peace process Islamabad has warned, as anger over the American president's outburst continued.
Pakistani foreign ministry officials hauled in the acting United States ambassador to register a protest after Mr Trump launched a diatribe against Pakistan's alleged double dealing in hiding Osama bin Laden.
Mr Trump's comments in a weekend television interview ignited a Twitter exchange with Pakistan's prime minister, Imran Khan, who said the US leader needed a history lesson and was blaming his country for American failures.
By Tuesday the row overshadowed a key plank of US foreign policy, as Islamabad appeared to say it could withdraw support for any Afghan peace deal with the Taliban.
Pakistan's support is seen as crucial to fostering negotiations, with US officials believing it retains sway over the militants after supporting them and providing safe havens for years.
Mr Trump's comments that Pakistan knew bin Laden was hiding in Abbottabad and had not “done a damn thing” to help America while receiving billions of aid caused outcry.
A Pakistan government statement said the turbulent allies were “working in close coordination with other regional stake holders in order to end the prolonged conflict [in Afghanistan].
“At this critical juncture, baseless allegations about a closed chapter of history could seriously undermine this vital cooperation.”
The foreign ministry said Mr Trump's “baseless rhetoric about Pakistan was totally unacceptable”.
Tehmina Janjua, Pakistan's foreign secretary, said.: “No other country had paid a heavier price than Pakistan in the fight against terrorism.”
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Read more:
Trump says Osama bin Laden should have been captured sooner
Taliban confirms talks with US officials on Afghan conflict
Trump blames Pakistan for US failures, Imran Khan says
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The US leader had told a Fox News interview that the world's most wanted terrorist had been living “beautifully” in “what I guess they considered a nice mansion" before he was killed in a 2011 special forces raid.
“But living in Pakistan right next to the military academy, everybody in Pakistan knew [bin Laden] was there."
"And we give Pakistan $1.3 billion a year...[bin Laden] lived in Pakistan, we're supporting Pakistan, we're giving them $1.3 billion a year. I ended it because they don't do anything for us, they don't do a damn thing for us."
Imran Khan hit back at “Trump’s false assertions” saying they added insult to injury after the death toll and economic loss Pakistan had suffered while backing American foreign policy.
“He needs to be informed about historical facts. Pakistan has suffered enough fighting the US's war. Now we will do what is best for our people and our interests,” the former cricketer said.
Frustrated by a lack of progress in Afghanistan and the high cost of its longest ever war, America has attempted to kick start a fledgling peace process this year. But several rounds of contacts between US and Taliban officials are not thought to have yet gone beyond early “talks about talks”.
One Western official told The National that diplomats trying to get negotiations going had long spoken of living under a "Tweet of Damocles" as they awaited an outburst from Mr Trump that could derail sensitive talks.
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sri Lanka squad for tri-nation series
Angelo Mathews (c), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Janith Perera, Thisara Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Shehan Madushanka, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan and Wanidu Hasaranga
The biog
Name: Salem Alkarbi
Age: 32
Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira
First started supporting Al Wasl: 7
Biggest rival: Al Nasr
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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