WASHINGTON: US Congressman Dennis Kucinich has called for an apology to Pakistan over the deaths of its 24 soldiers in NATO strikes last month, arguing that the incident should not be allowed to further damage the vital US-Pakistan relationship.
The Democrat from Ohio said Tuesday the November 26 incident "puts relationship, which is so important between the United States and Pakistan, at risk" while the two countries "need to work together, on so many issues."
The NATO must also compensate deaths of the soldiers, he emphasized while responding to a question at an event on the Capitol Hill.
"This relationship between the United States and Pakistan is critical but it's not simply a matter of United States' security, it's about the security of Pakistani people as well." he said, touching on complexities of the bilateral relationship.
"We need to apologize to the people of Pakistan and NATO must pay reparations for the soldiers' deaths."
The 24 soldiers killed in the November 26 strikes were doing service for their country, he noted, terming their deaths as "absolutely wrong."
The lawmaker felt statecraft must be practiced to make the important US-Pakistan relationship work and save it from stumbling into any more crisis.
Kucinich, who earlier also wrote a letter to US Defence Secretary to voice his concern over implications of the NATO strikes inside the Pakistani territory, went on to question the existence of the alliance decades after the demise of the Soviet Union, which it sought to counter during the cold war.
Top US administration officials have expressed remorse and regret over the tragedy but say they would wait for results of the ongoing investigation into the incident. The incident has evoked an angry response from Pakistani society and state, who urge a reset of the relationship with the United States under clearly defined parameters and on the basis of mutual respect.
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