“The United States does not plan to spend the $255 million in [Fiscal Year] 2016 Foreign Military Financing for Pakistan at this time … The president has made it clear that the United States expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorists and militants on its soil, and that Pakistan’s actions in support of the South Asia Strategy will ultimately determine the trajectory of our relationship, including future security assistance,” a national security official told the Fox News broadcaster on Monday.
On Monday, Trump wrote on his Twitter page that the United States had allocated millions of dollars in aid to Pakistan, while the latter had not contributed to countering terrorism and provided safe harbor to terrorists from Afghanistan. The US president vowed to stop providing financial aid for Pakistan.
The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 1 января 2018 г.
Meantime, on Tuesday the Pakistani Foreign Ministry summoned US Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale over US President Donald Trump’s critical remarks about Islamabad and its anti-terror policy, local media reported.
The Pakistani Cabinet will also hold a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday to discuss the situation, The News International media outlet reported. On Wednesday, Abbasi will also chair a meeting of the National Security Committee.
Pakistan is a US partner in southern Asia but the Afghan Islamist movement, the Taliban, reportedly uses territories in northern Pakistan for its bases.
Moreover, Osama bin Laden, the former leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, who was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, was found and killed by US forces in Pakistan in 2011.