Pentagon says Pakistan victim of terror

WASHINGTON: Pakistani people have been victims of "devastating" acts of terror and Pakistan and the United States share a common cause in curbing al-Qaeda linked groups operating in the region, the Pentagon said.

Press Secretary at the U.S. Department of Defense George Little also acknowledged Pakistan's counterterrorism cooperation along the Afghan border.

"The Pakistanis have been the victims of very devastating violence inflicted by terrorists, so we share a common cause in thwarting al-Qaida and other terrorist groups that are operating in the region," he said.

The United States, he said, will continue to "try to work closely with our Pakistani counterparts to prevent terrorist attacks against Pakistani interests, against American interests and those of our allies."

Little spoke at a briefing as the Parliament in Islamabad weighed in on ways to make the relationship work in a way that respects Pakistan's sovereignty.

The parliamentary debate takes place in the backdrop of a spate of incidents including November 26, 2011 cross-border NATO attacks on Pakistani border posts that killed at least 24 Pakistani soldiers and seriously undermined the relationship.

But the Pentagon official sounded hopeful that the United States and Pakistan can overcome challenges in their relationship and forge greater cooperation including re-opening of key Pakistani routes that transport supplies to sustain U.S.-led international forces in landlocked Afghanisan.

"The relationship with Pakistan remains very important to the United States and we're always looking for ways to explore further cooperation.  And it's important to recognize that cooperation does continue on a variety of fronts, and that includes the issue of counter terrorism and also coordination along the border with Afghanistan," Little said.

"So we think that we are -- the relationship is settling and, even though we've been through a rocky period, we can get through it," the Press Secretary responded to a question.

The Pentagon commented as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides visited Islamabad to stress mutually beneficial cooperation. On the eve of the visit, the U.S. State Department announced a bounty of $ 10 million for Hafiz Saeed, chief of Jama'at ud Dawa, for his alleged role in 2008 Mumbai bombings.

With respect to re-opening of Pakistani ground supply routes into Afghanistan, Little said, "we remain hopeful that those routes will be reopened in the near future, and discussions with the Pakistanis continue on a range of issues."

Little was also asked to clarify Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's remarks in an interview that Pakistan considered India a threat.

In response, the Pentagon official said the United States recognizes historic South Asian tensions and will work to prevent these tensions - between Pakistan and India - from besetting the region with unintended consequences.

"I'm not going to get into private discussions that the secretary may or may not have had at various points," he commented.

"But everyone recognizes that there have been tensions in that region for some time. We recognize those, and we believe that -- and to the extent that we can do so, we will -- we'll try to forge our greater cooperation to prevent unintended consequences of historic tensions from creating greater conflict," he added.