Pakistani anger justified: US General

LONDON: US-Pakistani relations are at one of their worst points in memory after the NATO strike that killed 24 Pakistani troops, but can recover, Washington's top military officer said on Monday.

General Martin Dempsey said Pakistani anger was justified given the loss of life. But he declined to offer an apology, saying during a trip to London that he did not know enough yet about the weekend incident and that there was a US military investigation.

"They have reason to be furious that they have 24 soldiers that are dead, and that the ordinance that killed them was the ordinance of a partner," Dempsey, chairman of the US military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Britain's ITV News.

"I would certainly like to enlist their patience in helping us figure out what happened."

Pakistan's military said the strike was unprovoked but a Western official and an Afghan security official who both requested anonymity have said NATO troops were responding to fire from the Pakistani side of the Afghan border.

Asked about US-Pakistani relations, Dempsey said: "It certainly does look like it's on about as rocky a road as it has been in my memory. And my memory with Pakistan goes back some 20 years or so."

Questioned whether the situation was irretrievable, he said: "No. I don't think so."

Dempsey branded the relationship with Pakistan "troubled" when he addressed a forum in London.

SUPPLY CUT-OFF

Pakistan shut NATO supply routes into Afghanistan in retaliation for the killings.

Dempsey said the United States could cope with the cut-off by channelling supplies through alternative routes.

"But I'd like to believe that we could, over time, with Pakistan's approval, restore those lines of communication," he said.

Pakistan has also said it had ordered the United States to vacate a drone base in the country.

Dempsey, who declined to acknowledge the use of drones at the base, said the move would be a "serious act in terms of our relationship".

"They want us to close the base in Shamsi, the purpose of which I leave to your imagination. There are other options for stationing aircraft and other resources around the region," Dempsey said.

Asked whether it was a serious blow, he said: "It's a serious blow in the sense that the Pakistani government felt that they needed to deny us the use of a base that we've been using for many years.

"And so it's serious in that regard. It's not debilitating militarily."

Dempsey said ties at senior levels between the two nations' militaries were still strong at the "person-to-person" level. (Reuters) Geo News