The US is suspending security assistance to Pakistan in a move that confirms the Trump administration’s harder line towards what it views as one of its most uneven allies.
Washington has relied on Pakistan to pursue a host of Islamist militants at home and in neighbouring Afghanistan in past years, but has struggled to maintain trust with the country, where al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden lived until he was killed in an unannounced US raid in 2011.
The move was announced by the state department on Thursday.
US officials accuse Pakistan of playing a double game, acting as friend to the US while hosting militant safe havens. This is despite protestations from Islamabad that Pakistan has paid the heaviest price in fighting terrorism at home and abroad, sacrificing tens of thousands of lives.