WASHINGTON – The White House said on Tuesday that it wanted to see Pakistan do more to combat terrorism and that it would likely announce actions in this regard within the next few days.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders during a press briefing expressed that President Trump was simply following through on a commitment that he made.
“Our goal is that we know that they can do more to stop terrorism and we want them to do that,” she said when asked about Trump’s first tweet of 2018 that accused Pakistan of deceit and lies against the aid provided to it.
The official accused that Pakistan was not fulfilling its obligations in the war against terrorism.
“In terms of specific actions, I think you’ll see some more details come out on that in the next 24 to 48 hours.” declared Sanders.
The announcement comes amid strained ties between Islamabad and Washington, a fillip to which was given by POTUS tweet on Monday in which he declared that no more aid would be provided to the South-Asian ally.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/947802588174577664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.dailypakistan.com.pk%2Fheadline%2Fchina-throws-weight-behind-pakistan-after-trumps-outlandish-remarks%2F
Before the White House briefing, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced that the US was withholding $255 million in aid to Islamabad, reiterating Trump’s allegations.
“The administration is withholding $255 million in assistance to Pakistan. There are clear reasons for this. Pakistan has played a double game for years,” Haley told reporters at the United Nations on Tuesday.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s top civilian and military leaders expressed that they were ‘deeply disappointed’ at the allegations levelled against Pakistan by the US president.
According to an official hand out released after the crucial National Security Council meeting, Pakistan decided not to take measures in haste in reply to Trump accusations that were “completely incomprehensible as they contradicted facts manifestly, struck with great insensitivity at the trust between [the] two nations built over generations, and negated the decades of sacrifices made by the Pakistani nation”.
The high-level huddle, chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, came a day after Trump indirectly threatened to cut Pakistan’s aid.
