US President Donald Trump's decision to freeze aid to Pakistan could affect almost two billion dollars' worth of assistance, a senior administration official said on Friday - substantially more than first thought. After an announcement designed to force Pakistan's military and intelligence apparatus to cut support for the Taliban and other Islamist groups, the official said that both US military assistance and Afghanistan coalition funding to Islamabad could be suspended.

It is "approximately two billion worth of equipment and coalition support funding that is in play," the official said on condition of anonymity. After more than a decade of simmering US anger at links between Islamabad and the Taliban and the Haqqani network - a Taliban affiliate - President Donald Trump is trying to draw a line in the sand. On the hook is almost $1 billion of US military equipment that has allowed Pakistan access to advanced military technology, but also funding that is meant to pay Pakistan for helping get US and Nato materiel into Afghanistan.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2018