US-Pakistan talks fail over airstrike

US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman left the Pakistani capital, Islamabad on Friday night without reaching any agreements with Pakistani officials, The New York Times reported on Friday.

The two-day negotiations were aimed at patching up damaged relations between the two countries caused by US airstrikes last November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on the Afghanistan border.

The US was “seriously debating” whether to say “I’m sorry” to Pakistan, until April 15, when multiple, simultaneous attacks struck Kabul and other Afghan cities, according to the report.

Washington blamed the attacks on the Haqqani network, a militant group based in Pakistan’s tribal belt in North Waziristan.

Pakistani officials say that without an apology they cannot re-open the US-led foreign forces supply routes into Afghanistan that have been closed since the November airstrike.

In return, the US is withholding as much as USD 3 billion of promised military aid to Pakistan.

Pakistan has repeatedly condemned airstrikes against its troops near the border with Afghanistan. While the strikes supposedly target militants, they usually claim the lives of civilians and Pakistani soldiers

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