Gilani says imperative to have good relations with 'one and only' U.S.

London, May 12 (ANI): Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said he wants to improve relations with the U.S. following the killing of Osama bin Laden on its soil last year.

"There have been lots of ups and downs in our relationship. We know the importance of the United States. We really want to improve our relations. We are in the middle of discussions and I am sure that better things will come out," Sky News quoted Gilani, as saying.

Tensions between the two countries intensified since a U.S. Drone strike killed more than 20 people in November last year, followed by Pakistan's boycott of NATO traffic in and out of Afghanistan, and Hillary Clinton's repeated assertion that Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri is currently in Pakistan.

U.S. Democrat Jesse Jackson has recently referred to the lack of harmony between Islamabad and Washington as a "bad marriage".

Gilani, however, described the relationship between the CIA and ISI, as "good".

"All high-value targets of al Qaeda - they have been achieved with the support and with the help of the ISI, with the CIA," he said.

"Therefore, when we are working together so closely, I think there should be no hesitation in sharing information with Pakistan," he added.

He believes his country often feels misunderstood - that America's war on terror is a matter of real choices for the people of Pakistan, and where the U.S. complains and pressurises, his people actually ride the blows. (ANI)