Slamming Pakistan for having “played a double game for years”, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has warned that President Donald Trump could go beyond the withholding of $255 million military aid to putting a stop to all funding if Islamabad continued to harbour terrorists.
“There are clear reasons for this. Pakistan has played a double game for years. They work with us at times, and they also harbour the terrorists that attack our troops in Afghanistan. That game is not acceptable to this administration,” Haley told a news conference at the United Nations.
Defending President Trump’s tough stance, Haley said, “The President is willing to go to great length to stop all funding as they continue to harbour and support terrorism.”
The Trump Administration expects far more cooperation from Pakistan in the fight against terrorism, she said.
Haley’s remarks came a day after the White House made it clear that it has blocked for now the pending military aid of $255 million, barely hours after Trump’s stinging tweet against Pakistan, declaring that the US will no longer put up with Islamabad’s “lies & deceit” over its support to terrorism.
“We know that Pakistan can do more to fight and stop terrorism and we want them to step up and do that. That seems pretty simple,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Tuesday.
Justifying Trump’s action, Sanders said, “The President outlined a new strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia earlier this past year, in August. And at that time, he laid out and said Pakistan is not fulfilling its obligations. The president is simply following through on a commitment that he made, because this is a President who does what he says he’s going to do.”
“The United States expects Pakistan to take decisive action against the Haqqani Network and other terrorists who are operating from its soil,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
Recalling the recent visits by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis to Pakistan, Nauert said both had conveyed a clear message on the need for additional cooperation in the battle against terrorism, adding, “So we expect them to take greater actions.”