The Trump administration’s decision to suspend US military assistance to Pakistan is intended to encourage the country’s government to take action against the Haqqani terrorist network (outlawed in Russia), US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said in a press release on Friday.

Axar.az reports citing sputniknews.com.

"The Trump administration’s calibrated approach is designed to encourage Pakistan to take the necessary steps against the Haqqani network," Corker wrote in the release, noting that Pakistan has acted as if it was an ally of the United States and accepted assistance all the while it continued to shelter terrorists.

On Thursday, the US State Department confirmed that the United States would cancel all security aid to Pakistan, including deliveries of military equipment and security assistance.

Corker, who himself has halted foreign military aid to Pakistan in the past, called the Pakistani government duplicitous.

The Taliban terror movement uses territories in northern Pakistan and has established bases there. Osama bin Laden, the former leader of the al-Qaeda terror group (also banned in Russia), was hiding in Pakistan until 2011 when he was killed by US forces.