While discussing his strategy for the war in Afghanistan, President Trump on Monday had sharp words for Pakistan, saying the United States could "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."
Islamabad has "much to gain" by working with the U.S. in Afghanistan, and "much to lose by continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists," Trump said. The U.S. has been paying Pakistan, an ally, "hundreds of millions" at the same time they are housing "the very terrorists we are fighting," and that "has to change immediately," he added. Because both Pakistan and India have nuclear weapons, their "tense relations threaten to spiral into conflict," Trump said, and it is in everyone's best interests to come together to fight "agents of chaos, violence, and terror."