Pakistan, US still far from agreement: Foreign Office

Pakistan

Pakistan, US still far from agreement: Foreign Office

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Pakistan said Thursday it was still far from reaching an agreement with United States.

05 April,2012 07:50 pm

One day after a senior US diplomat held a further round of talks in Islamabad, Pakistans foreign ministry said both sides were still at odds over US drone strikes and attacks that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit confirmed that both sides were discussing a framework agreement that would tax NATO convoys transiting to Afghanistan and resume compensation payments to Pakistan for fighting Islamist militants.We are discussing all these matters but the final outcome hinges on policy guidelines that we will get from the parliament.Pakistans relations with the United States nosedived in 2011. In January that year a CIA operative killed two Pakistanis, in May a covert US raid killed Osama bin Laden and then came the November strikes.The air strikes brought relations to their lowest point as a furious Pakistan shut its Afghan border to NATO supplies and evicted US personnel from an air base reportedly used as a hub by US drones.Although high-level contacts have now resumed, a formal resetting of the relationship is on hold until the Pakistani parliament finishes debating recommendations on how best to protect Islamabads interests.No timeline has been announced for the debate to finish. It has already been significantly delayed and with Pakistan in an election year few politicians want to be seen as accommodating the United States.We would like to put back our engagement to a level where it has been but it all depends on what our parliament says, Basit said.He said Pakistan was unhappy over a US decision not to pursue disciplinary charges over the November strikes, which saw the Pentagon blame both sides.We have demanded that action should be taken against those involved in the attack but the United States has a different position, Basit said.This issue is also under discussion between the two countries, he added, without giving further details.US Deputy Secretary of State Tom Nides, who visited Islamabad on Wednesday, asked Pakistan to address US concerns about security and called for a balanced relationship that works through the countries differences.One of the major sticking points is the US drone war on Islamist militants on Pakistani soil, which US officials say is highly effective but which Pakistani lawmakers want to end, calling them a violation of sovereignty.But let us not jump the guns. We are still working with the US to sort out differences on this important issue, Basit said.--AFP