Pakistan envoy to U.S. defends Obama’s ‘Crusades’ comment

Pakistan Ambassador to the United States Jalil Abbas Jilani on Tuesday defended President Barack Obama’s resistance to referring to terrorists as “Islamists” and praised his decision to invoke the Crusades as evidence that mass atrocities throughout history have not been the work of one particular religion.

“He was absolutely right that this is a phenomenon that is not exclusive to any particular religion or any particular religious group,” Jilani said at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast for reporters. “It is something that, to paint any particular religious group, it would be unfair.”

Asked whether the president’s word choice matters, the envoy replied, “It certainly matters, because obviously when there is only a small or very small number of those people, the Muslims, who engage in such acts, to paint the entire Muslim community with one broad brush, that would certainly not be liked by a majority of the people.”

Republicans and a few Democrats have criticized Obama for not tying terrorism in the Middle East — such as the rise of the so-called Islamic State — more directly to Islam.

Jilani also predicted that Pakistan would benefit from a nuclear deal with Iran and said that his country would welcome prospects for a slower U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The pullout must not “create any space for any militant activity to increase,” he said, underlining that Pakistan has had to order a “surge” of troops along its border with Afghanistan — an increase from 145,000 to 175,000 — as the U.S.-led presence in that war-torn country has decreased.

The number of U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan is due to fall from 10,000 to about 5,000 by the end of 2016. The rest will leave before the end of 2016. But top U.S. officials have hinted publicly that the timetable may be slowed to give Afghan security forces more time to find their feet.

Sticking with the original withdrawal plan would place “additional responsibilities on [the] Pakistan army, which is stressed to the limit,” Jilani said. A slower version “will be seen very positively in Pakistan.”

Jilani also expressed Pakistan’s support for a nuclear deal between Iran and the United States and five other great powers, saying an accord “would certainly be seen extremely positively by Pakistan.”

“There are tremendous economic benefits — for instance, the Iran-Pakistan pipeline project, which is on hold because of the sanctions laws, that is certainly going to take off once the sanctions are lifted,” he said.