The Pentagon insisted Wednesday that a Nato air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers near the Afghan border was in no way a deliberate US attack on Pakistan. Pentagon officials said a military investigation would uncover exactly what took place on Saturday along the Afghan-Pakistani border and maintained that the United States had not set out to kill Pakistani troops.
"Whatever happened over the weekend on the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan was a tragedy. We've expressed regret for it as well as condolences for the loss of life. "In no way, shape or form can this be construed as an intentional attack on Pakistan by the United States," US Defence Department spokesman George Little told reporters. "That is simply incorrect." Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby acknowledged that relations between Pakistan and the United States faced unprecedented difficulties but that Washington was determined to shore up the uneasy partnership.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United States and Pakistan must learn lessons from a Nato air assault that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers so the countries can continue fighting terrorism together. Clinton said Wednesday at a global aid development forum in South Korea that the assault in north-western Pakistan was tragic. She pledged a quick and thorough investigation. Clinton also expressed regret over Pakistan's withdraw from a US-backed meeting on Afghanistan taking place next week in Bonn, Germany.
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