UPDATE - Trump Hopes To Expand Bilateral Military Ties With Pakistan, Could Resume Security Aid

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published July 23, 2019 | 02:20 AM

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2019) President Donald Trump said that the United States could resume its assistance to Pakistan depending on what the two countries are able to work out during Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's ongoing visit to Washington.

"All of that can come back, depending on what we work out," Trump said on Monday during remarks in the Oval office Khan.

Last year, Trump ordered a halt to nearly $1.3 billion in security assistance to Pakistan, saying he suspended the aid over Islamabad's "subversive" actions that went against the United States' security interests in the region.

Trump and Khan held a bilateral meeting at the White House on Monday to discuss the Afghan peace process, as well as other security and trade matters.

The White House in a press release after the two leaders met said the president wants to strengthen bilateral military ties.

"President Trump also expressed his hope that the two leaders would revive all aspects of the bilateral relationship between their countries, including expanding trade deals and strong military-to-military ties, as they continue to make progress toward bringing peace and stability to South Asia," the release said on Monday.

Afghanistan is suffering from an unstable political, social and security situation due to the activity of the Taliban movement and the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia). Pakistan shares a border with Kandahar, one of Afghanistan's most turbulent provinces that is densely populated with Taliban militants.

While the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces are conducting joint offensive operations to combat terrorism across the country, Kabul and the Taliban are trying to launch reconciliation talks.