Pak tries to mend ties with US
4 May 2012 11:19 AM IST
Pakistan said on Thursday that it was working with the US at different levels to resolve all outstanding issues, including finding an alternative to drone attacks, as both countries are partners in the war against terror. ‘There is a need to resolve all issues with the US,’ Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Khan said during a weekly news briefing.
Pakistan has a clear stance on the drone strikes and considers them illegal, a violation of the country’s territorial sovereignty and counter-productive, he said.
Without giving details, Khan said Islamabad is interested in finding an alternative to the drones. There has been interaction between Pakistan and the US at various levels to resolve outstanding issues in a mutually beneficial and mutually acceptable manner, he said.
Pakistan is currently holding talks to reset its relations with the US in line with recommendations adopted at a joint sitting of parliament and everything will be decided in the context of these guidelines, including the issue of reopening supply routes to Afghanistan that were closed after a cross-border NATO air strike, Khan said.
Following the NATO attack in November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, Islamabad closed the supply routes and forced American personnel to vacate Shamsi airbase, considered a hub for CIA-operated drones.
The government ordered a parliamentary review of Pakistan-US ties that culminated with the adoption of the guidelines last month.
Khan refused to confirm or deny whether Pakistan had been invited by the US to the NATO Summit.
Pakistan has a clear stance on the drone strikes and considers them illegal, a violation of the country’s territorial sovereignty and counter-productive, he said.
Without giving details, Khan said Islamabad is interested in finding an alternative to the drones. There has been interaction between Pakistan and the US at various levels to resolve outstanding issues in a mutually beneficial and mutually acceptable manner, he said.
Pakistan is currently holding talks to reset its relations with the US in line with recommendations adopted at a joint sitting of parliament and everything will be decided in the context of these guidelines, including the issue of reopening supply routes to Afghanistan that were closed after a cross-border NATO air strike, Khan said.
Following the NATO attack in November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, Islamabad closed the supply routes and forced American personnel to vacate Shamsi airbase, considered a hub for CIA-operated drones.
The government ordered a parliamentary review of Pakistan-US ties that culminated with the adoption of the guidelines last month.
Khan refused to confirm or deny whether Pakistan had been invited by the US to the NATO Summit.
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