Islam Times - 'US-Pakistan ties at lowest point'

Islam Times - The dwindling relationship between the United States and Pakistan has already “reached the lowest end and can't go anywhere,” a former Pakistani official said .

In an exclusive interview on Tuesday, a senior retired officer of the Pakistani Air Force, Sultan M. Hali, said the US-Pakistani relationship has been “one-sided” and the Pakistani, government and the military need to review ties with Washington.

Following the November US-led airstrikes on two military checkpoints in northwest of Pakistan that left 24 soldiers dead, the relationship between the two allies suffered a major blow, Hali added. The raid prompted several anti-US demonstrations in Pakistani cities.

Meanwhile, a Pakistani parliamentary committee is reviewing the country's future cooperation with the United States.
In 2001, Pakistan entered an alliance with the US in the so-called war on terror. At least 35,000 Pakistanis, including civilians, have lost their lives in the violence since then.

Hali went on to say that the recent move by US Congress to freeze about USD 700 million in aid to Pakistan could further strain existing ties between the two countries.

“A number of things were taken for granted by the US especially it was said that there was an [approval] by the government regarding the drone attacks which were being allowed for the CIA to launch targets against the enemy in the Pakistani territories,” he noted

“But it has appeared that there was nothing in black and white. And there were a number of other incidents in which CIA agents were being placed in Pakistan without any formal agreement. So all these things need to be revisited,” the Pakistani commentator concluded.