US May Cut Aid to Pakistan, Wants More Help to Fight Taliban

Local Editor

Pakistan expressed disappointment with the "false narrative," as the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said his country may cut aid to Pakistan or review its status as a major non-NATO ally if Islamabad does not do more to help fight the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Tillerson's comments followed US President Donald Trump's blast against Pakistan on Monday, saying that the country provides "safe havens" for terrorist groups.

"We are going to be conditioning our support for Pakistan and our relationship with them on them delivering results in this area," Tillerson said.

Washington has "some leverage" that will allow it to put pressure on Islamabad, he added.

"The amount of aid and military assistance we give them, their status as non-NATO alliance partner - all of that can be put on the table," he said.

Tillerson said that despite the historically good relationship between the US and Pakistan, "over the last few years, there has been a real erosion in the confidence between our two governments... because we have witnessed terrorist organizations being given safe haven inside of Pakistan."

"We want to work with Pakistan in a positive way, but they must change their approach," Tillerson said, adding that Islamabad can play an "important role" in bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table.

On Tuesday, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry called Trump's claims of safe havens for the Taliban and other terrorist groups in the country a "false narrative."

"No country in the world has suffered more than Pakistan from the scourge of terrorism, often perpetrated from outside our borders. It is, therefore disappointing that the US policy statement ignores the enormous sacrifices rendered by the Pakistani nation in this effort," the ministry said in a statement.

"As a matter of policy, Pakistan does not allow use of its territory against any country," it added.

Islamabad pointed out that there was "no exclusive solution" to the conflict in Afghanistan.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team