As Pak-U.S. ties plunged to a new low after a deadly NATO strike, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani to offer her condolences on the “unintended” killing of 24 Pakistani troops but was unable to make him reconsider the decision to boycott a key meet on Afghanistan.
Ms. Clinton telephoned Mr. Gilani last evening and “conveyed her personal condolences on the death of Pakistani soldiers,” said a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad.
She said the “attack was not intentional” and asked Pakistan to “wait for the outcome of the investigation” into the incident.
In a bid to address concerns raised by Islamabad over what Pakistani military officials described as an “unprovoked act of blatant aggression”, Clinton said the U.S. has the “highest regard for Pakistan’s sovereignty.”
“This incident should not be allowed to jeopardise the bilateral relationship. Pakistan and U.S. have common interests,” she said.
Ms. Clinton also raised with Mr. Gilani the issue of Pakistan’s participation in the Afghan meet in Bonn on Monday.
Mr. Gilani told her that the Parliamentary Committee on National Security had supported the Cabinet’s decision not to participate in the Bonn Conference.
In Washington, the State Department also said that Ms. Clinton spoke with Mr. Gilani and “once again expressed condolences to the families of the soldiers and to the Pakistani people for the tragic and unintended loss of life in (in the NATO attack in) Mohmand (tribal agency) last weekend.”
“She reiterated America’s respect for Pakistan’s sovereignty and commitment to working together in pursuit of shared objectives on the basis of mutual interest and mutual respect,” it said in a statement.
Keywords: Afpak border, NATO attck, Bonn Conference, Afghan peace process, war on terror
