Washington: US President Donald Trump’s latest statements on Pakistan could further strain relations between the two countries. He asked a law enforcement official how many Pakistanis were arrested early this week trying to illegally enter America as he was told that individuals from several South Asian nations attempted to cross the porous border with Mexico. The US President’s enquiry was during a tour of the southern border in Texas.

Donald Trump who had travelled to the US-Mexico border to have a ‘first-hand’ assessment of the crisis asked the question when a law enforcement official listed out the name of the countries whose citizens were nabbed at the border a day earlier.

"So far this sector has apprehended folks from 41 different countries. Just yesterday, we apprehended 133 people from countries other than Central America and Mexico. That includes individuals from India. We apprehended some Pakistanis, Romania," the law enforcement official told Trump. "How many Pakistanis?" Trump asked, interrupting the law enforcement official. It was two yesterday, the border security official told the President.

The US –Pakistan ties became tense after Trump hit out at Pakistan for providing safe havens to "agents of chaos" and warned Islamabad that it has "much to lose" by harbouring terrorists that turn around and kill US soldiers.

Last year Trump had launched a scathing attack on Pakistan and said that the country doesn’t do “a damn thing” for the US and had also announced the cancellation of $300 million aid to Pakistan over what it called Islamabad's failure to take action against militant groups.

Targeting Pakistan he said, ‘we no longer pay Pakistan the billion dollars because they would take our money and do nothing for us, Bin Laden being a prime example, Afghanistan being another.

He said: “They were just one of many countries that take from the United States without giving anything in return. That’s ENDING!”

Trump believes that the Pakistan has been a reluctant partner of the US in the war against terrorism and that it has misused the US money. Trump also lambasted Pakistan for sheltering 9/11 terrorist Osama Bin to hide near its garrison city of Rawalpindi and never telling US about it. Trump insisted that Bin laden should have been captured long time back before he was killed in a daring raid in Abbottabad.

Hours after Trump’s tweet Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted his reply. He replied that Pakistan has suffered enough fighting US’ war and now it will do what is best for its people and interests.

(agency inputs)