By NNN-PTI,
Islamabad : Amid a raging row with Pakistan over incursions into its territory, the US vowed to respect Islamabad’s sovereignty, seeking to ease the tension that has brought their troops in an eyeball-to-eyeball situation along the porous Afghan border.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, who arrived here on an unannounced visit, handed out the assurance during meetings with his Pakistani counterpart General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, a US embassy statement said on Wednesday.
“The conversations were extremely frank, positive, and constructive,” it said.
The US military chief, on his fifth trip to the country since October, met top commanders a day after Pakistan army said its forces have been given orders to fire on US troops if they launch cross-borders attacks on militants inside Pakistan.
The embassy said Mullen resolved “to develop further US-Pakistani cooperation and coordination on these critical issues that challenge the security and well-being of the people of both the countries.” “The Pakistani leaders reviewed the progress of Pakistan’s efforts to combat militancy, violence, and terrorism,” it said.
Mullen appreciated the positive role that Pakistan is playing in the war on terror and pledged continued US support to Islamabad, the statement said.
The visit assumed significance in the wake of Pakistani forces and US-led coalition troops in Afghanistan coming to almost confrontation on the mountainous Pak-Afghan border, where Washington suspects elusive al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri were hiding.