High-level talks on ending a diplomatic deadlock between the United States and Pakistan have ended in failure over Pakistani demands for an apology from the United States, The New York Times reported Saturday.
The newspaper said US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman left Islamabad Friday night with no agreement.
The departure followed two days of discussions aimed at patching up the damage caused by a US air strike last November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on the Afghanistan border, the report said.
The United States refuses to apologise for the strike.
The incident has damaged the precarious US-Pakistani partnership and provoked outrage in Islamabad, which has retaliated by cutting off Nato supply routes to Afghanistan.
The United States and Pakistan disagree about the precise sequence of events in the deadliest single cross-border attack of the 10-year war in Afghanistan.
Pakistan denies shooting first, and has accused the Americans of an intentional attack on its troops.
The administration of President Barack Obama had been seriously debating whether to say “I’m sorry” to Pakistan’s satisfaction — until April 15, when multiple simultaneous attacks struck Kabul and other Afghan cities, The Times said.
“What changed was the 15th of April,” the paper quotes an unnamed senior administration official as saying.
US military and intelligence officials concluded that the attacks were directed by the Haqqani network, a group working from a base in North Waziristan in Pakistan’s tribal belt, the report said.
That swung the raging debate on whether Obama or another senior US official should go beyond the expression of regret that the administration had already given, and apologise, the paper said.
Without the apology, Pakistani officials say they cannot reopen the Nato supply routes into Afghanistan that have been closed since November, the report said.
The United States, in turn, is withholding from Pakistan between $1.18 billion and $3 billion of promised military aid.
The continuing deadlock does not bode well for Pakistan’s attendance at a Nato meeting in Chicago in three weeks, assuming it is even invited, The Times said.
US administration officials acknowledged Friday that the stalemate would not be resolved quickly, the paper noted.
US has apologized to Afghanistan three times since the Salala incident, but has refused to apologize to Pakistan. This is outrageous and an insult to people of Pakistan. Pakistan should make it very clear to the US, NO APOLOGY, NO LAND ROUTE AND NO PARTICIPATION IN THE CIRCUS IN CHICAGO OVER AFGHANISTAN.
A fifty nation meeting is not going to solve Afghanistan. The only parties that need to be at the table are; Karzai Government, Taliban, Norther Alliance, Pakistan and the US.
If US refuses to agree to Pakistan's terms, we should respectfully tell them 'Don't count on our help in Afghanistan, go do it on your own'.
Pakistan has suffered billions of dollars worth damage over Afghanistan, it's society has become fractured with gun and drug running by Afghans in Pakistan, nearly three million Afghan refugees are still residing in Pakistan and US and Afghanistan are extremely ungrateful, not recognizing Pakistan's sacrifices. Unless and until they do,
Pakistan need not extend a lending hand to either.
USA on the one hand is supporting the democratic government in Pakistan, even the convicted Prime Minister, on the other hand is refusing to apologize the Salala attack which makes the civilian government very vulnerable in the eyes of Pakistani's especially the Armed forces. As long as the Obama administration does not follow a balanced policy in this region it will hurt Pakistan as well as the interest of USA in this region.
This deadlock is actually a blessing in disguise for Pakistan & I wish it to remain so for good. Taditionally, we have come out as bad loosers out of this troubled relationship with Yankees!
The current U.S. Administration needs to learn a lesson or two from the past. President Regan held Pakistan in high esteem despite Senator Pressler's threats to freeze aid to Pakistan.
On discovering that Pakistan may be developing nuclear assets, President Reagan's Secretary of State George Schultz cautioned against breaking relations with Pakistan when he wrote: “A rupture of our relationship would call into question a central tenet of this administration’s foreign policy – strong support for our friends".
People like Leon Panetta (who stopped Obama from apologizing to Pakistan) are just kids compared to George Schultz. President Obama needs to rid himself of idiots like him and make serious efforts to repair relations with Pakistan. Without Pakistan's help and support, U.S. faces a certain defeat in Afghanistan..
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