No official apology from United States: Report

In quite an expected move, the US Department of Defense officials have indicated that there might not be any official apology on the Salala incident by the United States (US).

The statement comes at a time when many in Pakistan were anticipating for a breakthrough in the bilateral ties between Pakistan and the US after meeting of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC).

The powerful panel signaled resumption of NATO supplies for the allied forces battling in Afghanistan.

According to the media reports, the US is mulling not to offer any official apology to Pakistan over the killing of 24 Pakistani troops.

A report quoting an American official said, “US officials have offered our deepest regrets and for that tragic incident and sincerest condolences to the families of the Pakistani soldiers who lost their lives. We are committed to working closely with Pakistan and Afghanistan to prevent this from ever happening again”.

However, the official rejected the impression that Pakistan was not being paid for the usage of land route for the NATO supplies.

He commented, “Coalition cargo transiting Pakistan has been subject to all general fees applied to any goods transiting Pakistan according to Pakistani laws and regulations, and has paid additional fees for services requested by Pakistani government entities”.

Conversely, he stated that an extra $350 million will be paid to Pakistan under a new agreement between the two states.

Earlier, the Pentagon spokesperson told reporters that a US team has been in discussions with Pakistani officials since Islamabad blocked supplies for allied forces battling in Afghanistan.

George Little said that they were hopeful that in the very near future the land route will be reopened, adding the US and Pakistan share common threats, concerns and interests.

He commented, “Terrorism is common concern that both the United States and Pakistan face,” he said. “The same terrorists that come after us go after Pakistanis and have been responsible for the deaths of thousands of Pakistanis”.

In his view, other aspects of the US-Pakistan relationship were not affected. Washington continues to work closely with the Islamabad to reset new terms of engagement that gets over some of the obstacles that we faced in the past, he added.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on May 17 2012. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.