Following US President Donald Trump’s aggressive statements, accusing Pakistan of “harboring terrorists”, US ambassador David Hale met foreign minister Khawaja Asif in Islamabad on Tuesday. Trump’s new policy towards Afghanistan included deploying more troops and called out Pakistan sheltering “agents of chaos, violence, and terror,” saying the US could “no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organisations.” In his meeting, Hale briefed the foreign minister about President Trump’s latest statement on the US policy review on Afghanistan and South Asia. According to the foreign office, Hale conveyed that the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson looked forward to meeting the Foreign Minister in the next few days to have an in-depth discussion on the state of play in the bilateral relationship as well as the new US policy on South Asia. Asif reiterated Pakistan’s desire fore peace and stability in the region and especially Afghanistan. He highlighted Pakistan’s immense sacrifices in the fight against terrorism and also highlighted the efforts made towards eliminating the nuisance of terrorism and its desire to with the international community towards achieving this goal.