Washington (Web Desk): United States President Donald Trump has on Tuesday has asked Pakistan to take “decisive action” against terrorist groups operating from its soil.
Unveiling his first national security strategy underlining the country’s interests and objectives worldwide, he said that the US continues to face threats from transnational terrorists and militants operating from within Pakistan.
“We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organizations, the Taliban, and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond,” read the paper, believed to be the defining policy statement of US strategy for the coming months.
“We have made clear to Pakistan that while we desire continued partnership, we must see decisive action against terrorist groups operating on their territory. And we make massive payments every year to Pakistan. They have to help,” Trump said in his remarks as he announced his NSS.
To win the longest and costliest battle in US history, inherited from his predecessors George W Bush and Barack Obama, US President Donald Trump unveiled a new strategy in August for the war in Afghanistan.
In the controversial strategy, that also covers South Asia, Trump, besides stressing that more pressure be exerted on the Taliban and like-minded groups fighting in Afghanistan, also vowed to mount pressure on countries supporting the ongoing insurgency in the central Asian state.
Trump, while rejecting any plans to withdraw US forces from the insurgency-plagued country in the near future, said that “our new strategy is a shift from a time-based approach to one based on conditions.”
Pakistani officials responded to the allegations saying that the US should not “scapegoat” Pakistan for its failure to eliminate militant sanctuaries inside Afghanistan.
