Obama condoles to Pakistani victims of NATO raid
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Xinhua, December 5, 2011
U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday called Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to express his condolences on the recent killings of 24 Pakistani soldiers by the NATO strikes, White House said in a statement.
Earlier the day, Obama called Zardari to "personally express his condolences" on the loss of the Pakistani soldiers, said the statement.
The telephone conversation came after the NATO attacks have triggered furious reactions from Islamabad who has decided to close the NATO logistic supply lines in Pakistan immediately and ordered the U.S. to vacate a key airbase in the country's southwest Balochistan province within 15 days.
Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani had warned that his country's relationship with the U.S. can only continue with mutual respect and mutual interest. In protest to the attacks, Islamabad, a critical player on Afghanistan's future, also decided to boycott the upcoming international Afghanistan conference due to be held in Bonn, Germany.
During the phone call, Obama insisted that this "regrettable" incident was not a "deliberate attack" on Pakistan and reiterated the U.S. "strong commitment" to a full investigation, according to the White House statement.
The two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to the bilateral relationship, and agreed to stay in close touch, the statement added.
The U.S.-Pakistani ties have been sent to a decade low by a series of disputes between the two countries this year, including the U.S. secret raid into Pakistan in May that killed Osama bin Laden and the recent quarrels on the al-Haqqani networks which is accused by the U. S. as a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's intelligence service.
Pakistan sees the killing of its soldiers and secret raids into the country as a violation of its sovereignty, while the U.S. always complains about insufficient cooperation from Pakistan on its counter-terrorism effort.
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