On Monday, the U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to stop financial assistance to Pakistan. Trump tweeted, “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!”
The U.S. has been giving financial assistance to Pakistan from the past 15 years. In the recent years, the U.S. tightened the strings demanding action from Pakistan against the terrorist networks in Afghanistan. In August 2017, the Trump Administration kept $ 255 million on hold, demanding action against terrorists. The U.S. planned to suspend further aids to Pakistan under the State Department’s Assistance programme named as the Foreign Military Financing (FMF.)
Recently, during a visit to Pakistan, the U.S. Secretary of Defence James Mattis said, “Pakistan must redouble its efforts to confront militants and terrorists operating within the country.” With his new year twitter post, Trump has clearly stated the U.S. is not satisfied with Pakistan’s response.
Today, the Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi called for a special meeting of the Cabinet to discuss Trump’s statement. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khwaja Asif said the Country will officially respond to Trump’s claims shortly. Khwaja Asif tweeted, “We will respond to President Trump’s tweet shortly inshallah…Will let the world know the truth..difference between facts & fiction..”
Trump called for a tougher measure against Pakistan if they did not cooperate with the U.S. to fight against terrorism.
