US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has defended the Trump administration's decision to cut USD 300 million aid to Pakistan, saying Islamabad did not make satisfactory progress in combating terrorism.


Pompeo is arriving in Islamabad along with General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, days after the Trump administration cancelled USD 300 million in military aid to Pakistan as it was not doing enough against terrorist groups inside its borders, the latest controversy to hit Islamabad's troubled relationship with Washington.


Pompeo's talks will be the Trump administration's first high-level dialogue with Pakistan since the new government of Prime Minister Imran Khan assumed office after the July 25 elections.


Talking to reporters travelling with him hours before landing in Pakistan, the Secretary of State said: "The rationale for them (Pakistan) not getting the money is very clear. It's that we haven't seen the progress that we need to see from them". The top American diplomat, during his meeting with Khan, army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, would convey the same message of acting tough on terrorist organisations in Pakistan.


"The very reason for this trip is to try and articulate what our expectation is, the things that they can do, the things that they expect us to do, and see if we can't find a path forward together," Pompeo said amid reports that the Pentagon has sought a Congressional approval to reprogramme USD 300 million meant for financial assistance to Pakistan because of the lack of progress in fight against terrorism.


However, Pompeo said that this was not news for Pakistan. "Look, this wasn't news to the Pakistanis. It made a lot of headlines over the last few days because of the formality... but they were told this past summer that they weren't likely to get that money," he said. Ahead of the meeting with Khan, Pompeo hoped that they can turn the page and begin to make progress. -- PTI