The Trump administration has barred scores of Pakistani military officers from coveted training and educational programs that have been a staple of bilateral relations for more than a decade.

The move is one of the first known steps from Trump’s decision this year to suspend security assistance to Pakistan to compel it to crack down on Islamic militants.

But some US officials told Reuters that they were worried the decision could undermine a key trust-building measure with Pakistan, whose ISI security service has long been suspected of aiding terrorists and giving safe haven to the Taliban on its territory close to the Afghan border.

The US military is so distrustful of its Pakistani counterparts it did not inform them about the Navy SEALS raid that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden, who was hiding out in Abbottabad not far from the country’s version of West Point.

Pakistani officials warned it could push their military to further look to China or Russia for leadership training.

The suspension of Pakistan from the government’s International Military Education and Training program will close off places that had been set aside for 66 Pakistani officers this year, a State Department spokesperson told Reuters.

The places will either be unfilled or given to officers from other countries.

Dan Feldman, a former US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, called the move “very short-sighted and myopic.”

“This will have lasting negative impacts limiting the bilateral relationship well into the future,” Feldman told Reuters.

The US military has traditionally sought to shield such educational programs from political tensions, arguing that the ties built by bringing foreign military officers to the States pay long-term dividends.

The War College, the Army’s premier school for foreign officers, said it had hosted 37 Pakistanis over the past several decades.

But it will have no Pakistani students in the upcoming academic year, a spokeswoman said.

Pakistan has also been removed from programs at the US Naval War College, Naval Staff College and courses including cybersecurity studies.

In his first tweet of 2018, Trump slammed Pakistan, saying the country has rewarded past US aid with “nothing but lies & deceit.”

Washington announced plans in January to suspend up to roughly $2 billion in security assistance to Pakistan.

But weeks later, Pakistan’s foreign secretary was quoted by local media saying that Islamabad had been told the US would continue funding IMET programs.

Tensions have grown over US complaints that the Afghan Taliban militants and the Haqqani network that target American troops in Afghanistan are allowed to shelter on Pakistani soil.

With Reuters