Pakistan to Debate Future of US Relations

Posted March 20th, 2012 at 2:05 am (UTC-5)
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Pakistan's parliament will consider the future of its relations with the United States, Tuesday, nearly five months after bilateral ties reached a low point when NATO forces mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the Afghan border.

The long-awaited session of both houses of parliament will debate the recommendations of a special commission tasked with laying out the new terms of engagement with the U.S. and NATO.

The recommendations, which have not been made public, are expected to deal with the conditions for re-opening NATO supply routes through Pakistan to Afghanistan and the full resumption of counter-terrorism cooperation with the U.S.

Many observers expect the lawmakers to approve the recommendations after several days of debate.

The November border attack brought U.S.-Pakistan relations to an ebb, with ties already strained by the covert U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan last year and a number of American drone strikes targeting militants in Pakistan's northwest.

Pakistan responded to the NATO attack by shutting down the two main overland routes the coalition uses to send nonlethal supplies to Afghanistan. It also ordered American personnel out of Shamsi air base and drew back its cooperation in the U.S. war on terror.

Washington has expressed regret for the loss of life and accepted partial blame for the incident. It has called for a resumption of a full range of formal contacts with Pakistan.