Pakistan backs open communication with US

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan called Thursday for open dialogue with the United States.

"Pakistan attaches enormous value to its contacts with the US," said foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit.

US President Barack Obama and Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met Tuesday at a nuclear summit in Seoul for talks that an Obama aide said "made important progress" in both sides hearing from one another.

On Wednesday, the top US generals overseeing the Afghan war, John Allen and James Mattis, also met army chief Ashfaq Kayani.

No date has been announced for Pakistan to re-open the Afghan crossings to NATO supplies and officials admit privately that the process may take longer than initially thought.