The United States President Donald Trump has on Wednesday said, he wants to have a “good relationship” with Pakistan and is also looking forward to “meeting with the new leadership” in Islamabad.
According to news reports, while speaking with his cabinet colleagues on Wednesday, Trump said a meeting with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan will take place “very soon”. Trump also said his administration has also initiated peace talks with the Taliban in Afghan country.
South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham, considered much close to Trump, said if Pakistan would help the US bringing the Taliban on negotiation table, then the US focus over counter-terrorism and the ISIS. Graham wanted Trump to free the trade agreement with Pakistan as an incentive for Pakistan to urge the Taliban for peace talks to end Afghan war.
However, during the talks, the US president lashed out on Pakistan saying he has ended USD 1.3 billion aid to Islamabad because “this South Asian country houses enemies”.
According to reports, Trump said: “We want to have a great relationship with Pakistan, but they house the enemy. They take care of the enemy. We just can’t do that.” Trump also alleged Pakistan was unfair to the US.
Trump said: “So, I look forward to meeting with the new leadership in Pakistan. We will be doing that in the not too distant future. But I ended USD 1.3 billion that we paid. I think it was water, we were just paying to Pakistan. So, I ended that.”
The president’s administration has announced last year that it has suspended security assistance to Islamabad over differences on Afghan but then indicated the training for military forces would continue.