'Very difficult time' in Pak-US military ties: Admiral Mullen

Washington, July 26 : US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen has said US-Pakistan military-to-military ties are at a 'very difficult' crossroad.

Admiral Mullen, however, insisted that he doesn’t think that the two countries “are close to severing those ties”.

“We are in a very difficult time right now in our military-to-military relations,” the Daily Times quoted Mullen, as saying.The retiring admiral further hoped that both countries would soon find a way to “recalibrate” the ties.“We need to work through the details of how this (recalibration) is going to happen,” Admiral Mullen said. 
Relations between the two countries have been on a downward spiral since January after CIA contractor Raymond Davis killed two Pakistanis.

Then in May, the killing of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in a secret raid by US Special Forces further damaged the relationship, with Pakistan seeing the operation as a violation of its territorial sovereignty.

Earlier, this month, the Obama administration suspended some 800 million dollars in military assistance to Pakistan in a show of displeasure over its cutback on US trainers, limits on visas for US personnel and other rubs.

--ANI

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