Pakistan-US tensions unlikely to abate soon, says Dawn

ISLAMABAD - The rise in tensions between Pakistan and the US “is not likely to abate any time soon”, a leading daily here said editorially as a key route to Afghanistan remained closed following a NATO helicopter attack that killed three Pakistani troopers.

NATO convoys bound for Afghanistan “continue to be attacked in parts of Pakistan and one of the two entry points at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the Torkham crossing, remains closed”, said an editorial in the Dawn.

“It has become increasingly clear that the latest rise in tensions between the US and Pakistan is not likely to abate any time soon”.

Thw tbree Pakistani troopers were killed last week when NATO helicopters entered the country’s airspace and fired at a military outpost along the Afghan border.

The coalition forces have “shown a reluctance to disavow the attacks themselves and have gone only as far as to show some sympathy for the loss of Pakistani soldiers lives in one attack in Kurram Agency”, the Dawn said.

The editorial pointed out that it was “clear that American frustrations with the slow pace of Pakistans efforts to dismantle, or even aggressively tackle, the militant sanctuaries in North Waziristan Agency have reached a new high”.

It went on to say that it makes “little sense to vitiate the atmosphere between the two countries further”.

“On Pakistans part, there is a need to bring some clarity, in public as much as possible, on its partnership with the US in the fight against militancy.”