Trump says relations 'very good' with Pakistan

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Relations between the United States and Pakistan are "very good," President Donald Trump said Wednesday.

The brief remarks came as Trump prepared to depart the White House for Ohio, where he is set to visit a tank factory and meet with supporters.

Trump said his administration will soon be meeting with Pakistani officials.

U.S.-Pakistani relations had taken a turn for the worse in recent years, with the U.S. announcing a $300 million cut in military aid to Pakistan in 2018.

Trump attacked Pakistan on Twitter in November, saying it was not doing enough to stop terrorism.

"We no longer pay Pakistan the $Billions because they would take our money and do nothing for us, Bin Laden being a prime example, Afghanistan being another. They were just one of many countries that take from the United States without giving anything in return. That’s ENDING!" Trump fumed.

Trump was referring to the 2011 U.S. raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan that resulted in the death of the al-Qaeda leader. The site where bin Laden was holed up was just miles away from Pakistan's premier military academy.

The main sticking point between Washington and Islamabad has been the issue of the Taliban’s presence in Afghanistan. The U.S. has been engaged in a more than 17-year war against the group and is currently engaged in talks with it to hammer out a prospective peace deal to end the conflict.

Officials of the two countries have met numerous times over the past two months. In September, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Pakistan and met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and then-newly elected Prime Minister Imran Khan.