The US military said Wednesday that it has begun pulling some American troops out of Pakistan after Islamabad requested a smaller presence, amid tensions over a unilateral US raid against Osama bin Laden.
The Pakistani government had asked for a scaling back of the US contingent of more than 200 troops earlier this month, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan said.
“We were recently (within the past 2 weeks) notified in writing that the government of Pakistan wished for the US to reduce its footprint in Pakistan. Accordingly, we have begun those reductions,” Lapan said in a statement.
He did not say how many troops would be pulled out. Most of the US personnel are special forces that train and advise Pakistani troops as part of a long-running effort to counter Al-Qaeda and other militants.
The withdrawal of some US troops underscored the crisis between the two countries in the aftermath of the covert US raid that killed bin Laden on May 2, despite US diplomatic efforts to smooth over tensions.
Days after the raid, Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani said that any similar raid on Pakistani soil would prompt a review of military cooperation with United States and informed army commanders of a decision to reduce the strength of US military personnel to “the minimum level.”
Even before the operation, Pakistani officials had told the Americans they wanted about 20 to 30 of the roughly 150 special forces troops to be withdrawn after a CIA employee shot and killed two Pakistanis in Lahore.
Pakistan had demanded a smaller US presence after months of haggling over the fate of the employee, Raymond Davis, who was charged with murder, it said.
Davis was eventually released in March after the families of those killed were paid “blood money.”
Furious US lawmakers are demanding a re-evaluation of relations in the wake of the May 2 raid, charging that Pakistan is playing a double-game of supporting militants while enjoying a steady stream of aid from United States.
But the Obama administration needs the Pakistani port of Karachi and its roads to supply US forces in landlocked Afghanistan.
Some US officials and analysts say Pakistan and the United States still need each other, and that underlying interests will persuade both sides to try to avoid a total collapse in relations.
