US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ambassador Marc Grossman has expressed regrets over civilian casualties in Pakistan, paving way for resolving disagreement between the two allies after a drone strike in North Waziristan on March 17 killed 41 people including several tribal elders.
Grossman insisted that the objective of the US mission in Afghanistan and its co-operation with Pakistan is "protecting people and improving their lives," and "when civilians are killed, we regret it. We deeply regret it". Grossman was speaking during a panel at the Brussels Forum entitled, "Bridging Trust Deficit with Pakistan,' along with UK Defence Secretary, Liam Fox and journalist Ahmed Rashid.
Ambassador Grossman was asked about the civilian casualties from done strikes by Steve Erlanger of the New York Times. He stressed that he could not go into specific operations, reflecting US policy of avoiding public discussion of drone strikes. "I can't discuss all the aspects of every bit of this co-operation," he said about US-Pakistan partnership along Pakistan-Afghanistan border. "If the object is for protecting people and improving their lives, that is a worthwhile endeavour," he added. "You know when civilians are killed, we regret it. We deeply regret it," he stated.
Earlier, in his introductory remarks, Grossman said, "I'm not going to answer about this military problem, this military approach or that military approach. I'm not even going to answer about all of the co-operation that we have with the Pakistanis." But he said, "the purpose of the relationship is to make Pakistanis more secure, and Americans and Europeans more secure, and to make Pakistanis more prosperous, that's something we're after." He said, "We deeply regret civilian casualties when they happen, anywhere, and certainly, and certainly it's an important thing to say ou loud, to regret those casualties."
In expressing regret over civilian casualties, Grossman appeared to be meeting a key Pakistani condition in the aftermath of the North Waziristan drone strikes that resulted in the death of 41 people including tribal elders and drew condemnation from Pakistan's civilian as well as military leaders, including Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.