US president Donald Trump said on Monday the country had "foolishly" handed Pakistan more than $33 billion (€27.5bn) in aid over the last 15 years while getting nothing in return, and pledged to put a stop to it.
"They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!" Mr Trump wrote on Twitter. "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."
A National Security Council official on Monday said the White House does not plan to send $255 million in aid to Pakistan "at this time" and said "the administration continues to review Pakistan's level of co-operation." In August, the administration had said it was delaying the payment.
Pakistan's foreign minister, Khawaja M Asif, wrote on Twitter: "We will respond to President Trump's tweet shortly inshallah [God willing] . . . Will let the world know the truth . . . difference between facts & fiction."
It was not immediately clear what prompted Mr Trump's criticism of Pakistan but he has long complained that Islamabad is not doing enough to tackle Islamist militants.
The New York Times reported on December 29th that US officials had sought but been denied access to a member of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network captured in Pakistan who potentially could provide information about at least one American hostage.
In countering US criticism, Pakistan says it has launched military operations to push out militants from its soil and that 17,000 Pakistanis have died fighting militants or in bombings and other attacks since 2001.
Michael Kugelman, senior associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson centre, cautioned that people should not "overstate the significance of Trump's tweet for policy".
Mr Kugelman noted Mr Trump tweeted in October that relations with Pakistan were improving, when some experts suggested they were not. “Still, this is an administration that has repeatedly vowed to take a harder line and has strongly considered an aid cut. So was Trump’s tweet meant to preview a coming shift in policy? I’d certainly bet on the possibility,” Mr Kugelman said.
Taliban
In a speech last month in Afghanistan to US troops, vice-president Mike Pence said "for too long Pakistan has provided safe haven to the Taliban and many terrorist organisations, but those days are over. President Trump has put Pakistan on notice."
Hamdullah Mohib, Afghanistan’s ambassador in Washington, said in a Twitter posting that Mr Trump’s tweet was a “promising message to Afghans who have suffered at the hands of terrorists based in Pakistan for far too long.”
US senator Rand Paul said on Twitter he would lead the charge in the senate to end aid to Pakistan. "Let's make this happen," he said.
The Pakistan embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. – Reuters