Ended aid to Pakistan as they don't do a damn thing for us: Donald Trump

In a development that confirms the deteriorating US-Pakistan ties, US President Donald Trump justified the aid cut to Pakistan, slamming inaction on its part to curb terror.

In an interview to Fox news channel on Sunday, Trump said, "And we give Pakistan $1.3 billion a year. ... [bin Laden] lived in Pakistan, we’re supporting Pakistan, we’re giving them $1.3 billion a year - which we don’t give them any more, by the way. I ended it because they don’t do anything for us, they don’t do a damn thing for us."

The first tweet this year by US President was on Pakistan aid cut and the "lies and deceit". He tweeted on January 1, 2018, "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. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!"

He slammed Pakistan for providing a safe haven to 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden. He said, "You know, living - think of this - living in Pakistan, beautifully in Pakistan in what I guess they considered a nice mansion, I don’t know, I’ve seen nicer. But living in Pakistan right next to the military academy, everybody in Pakistan knew he was there," he added."

In an operation on April 2, 2011, US special forces raided Osama Bin Laden's compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad and killed him.

Pakistan is likely to summon US Chargé d’Affaires in Islamabad Ambassador Paul W Jones after the comments.

The relationship between Islamabad and Washington has come under pressure. US Secretary of state Mike Pompeo had visited Islamabad after the formation of New government led by Imran Khan and asked to do more on the issue of terror. 

The comments by US president comes days after PM Modi met US Vice President Mike Pence in Singapore on the sidelines of 13th East Asia summit and raised with him the issue of terror originating from Pakistan. Speaking to the media after the Modi-Pence meet, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said, "Prime Minister reminded that in one way or another all the traces or all the leads in global terror attacks ultimately leads to a single source, a single place of origin".

PM Modi also raised the issue of mainstreaming of terrorism by Pakistan. Gokhale said PM Modi "did point out that the mainstreaming of the people involved in Mumbai terror attacks in a political process which had taken place in a recent election in Pakistan should be a matter of serious concern not just to the two countries i.e. India and the United States but to the International community."

The remarks by Trump comes a week before India marks the anniversary of 26/11 Mumbai attacks. US Vice President Mike Pence during his meeting had referred to the coming 10th anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks.

The remarks also come before a likely Modi-Trump meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina by the end of this month.