1st LD: U.S. suspending security assistance to Pakistan: State Department

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. State Department announced on Thursday that the nation is suspending its security assistance to Pakistan.

State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a press briefing that the exact sum of the relative assistance is still being figured out.

U.S. President Donald Trump and the White House have engaged in hawkish statements against Pakistan since the beginning of 2018, accusing Islamabad of not doing enough to support the U.S. anti-terrorism initiative in Afghanistan but providing "safe havens" to terrorists that the United States are hunting down.

Bilateral relations have been sour since Washington released its so-called new South Asia strategy and suspended its military assistance of 255 billion U.S. dollars to the Asian country.

In response, Pakistan summoned the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan late Monday to lodge a protest, saying Pakistan has taken action against all militant groups without any discrimination and its sacrifices are being ignored. Enditem