Trump meets Afghan President Ghani, ignores Pak PM at UNGA

US President Donald Trump on Thursday held a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, while he clearly ignored Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who is also present at the 72nd Session of the UNGA.

Trump, during the meeting with the Afghan President, discussed their campaign against terrorism in the war-torn country.

Ghani hailed the US's new war strategy for Afghanistan and said, "I would like to thank you (Trump) for the thoroughness of the review and especially for ordering that all instruments of American power -- military, diplomatic, and economic -- are brought together in a coherent plan of action to lift Afghanistan out of 40 years of crisis, and to make it a platform for stability and prosperity."

In a new strategy announced a month ago by Trump, the US has committed to sending in more troops to Afghanistan in order to fight insurgency.

"People don't realise you had 20 terrorist groups in Afghanistan. This is where the World Trade Center people -- I'll call them "people" -- were trained. This is what happened," Trump told Ghani during the meet.

"But you had 20 groups -- more than anyplace else. It's really a hornet's nest from that standpoint. We are hitting them very, very hard and very, very effectively, and we really have no choice but to do it," he added.

The US President on his Twitter handle shared a video of his meeting with Ghani, saying, "It was a pleasure to have President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan with us this morning!"

Trump, in his maiden UNGA address on Tuesday, delivered a strong message to nations harbouring terrorists, reiterating campaign promises he made during the US election campaign of 2016.

Trump's emphatic condemnation of terrorists and those nations providing patronage to terror groups, came on the heels of his speech on the war in Afghanistan he made last month that slammed Pakistan's role in granting safe havens to terrorists.

The US President, in the same speech, lauded India's role in Afghanistan and hoped for an increase of Indian support to rebuilding and securing the war ravaged nation.

Recently, USA acted stern on Pakistan and also accused it of providing safe haven to extremists. It also threatened to cut military funding for Pakistan.

Trump's avoiding the Pakistan Prime Minister may be a hint from him about Washington DC tightening its screws against Islamabad.