LAHORE, Feb 11: The acquisition and cross-servicing agreement signed between Pakistan and America on Feb 9 is a “reward for Pakistan in the aftermath of its betrayal of the Muslims of Afghanistan,” says Hizbul-Tahrir.

It a statement here on Monday, it said “in reality it (the agreement) only underscores the ‘capitulation’ of the military leadership in the face of ever-increasing American control of Pakistan’s affairs.

“The agreement is designed to facilitate joint exercises, training, deployments and other combined activities between the militaries of the two countries.

“No doubt, America will use this close access to the Pakistan military to candidly monitor and assess its strength and weakness,” the statement said.

Opposing a US demand seeking lease of 20,000 acres of land in Balochistan, Hizb warned the military regime not to “repeat the fatal mistake of the Moghals who granted British East India Company to bring troops to protect their trading posts, only to discover some years later that they had to surrender themselves to the British Raj. — Staff Reporter