Pakistan admits to problems in ties with US

Islamabad, April 12 (IANS) Admitting to problems in its relations with the US, Pakistan said Thursday the future of the ties depends on parliament, which is currently reviewing the terms of engagement with America.

"There are problems in the Pakistan-US relations and both sides were working to overcome the same," Xinhua quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit as saying.

Islamabad called for a review of the relationship with Washington following a NATO air strike on Pakistan Army border posts that killed 24 soldiers.

"Everything hinges on what the final policy guidelines we get from the parliament and all are awaiting for this process to complete," the foreign ministry spokesman said.

He hoped that after the completion of the parliamentary process, relations with the US would be further strengthened.

"Pakistan wants normal relations with the US but their new dimensions will be set by the parliament which is discussing the future line of action with the US," Basit said.

"We have never broken the bilateral ties," he added.

The spokesman said there have been meetings at different levels between the two countries to discuss the future course of action and to improve the relations on the basis of mutual benefit and mutual trust.

On the recent meeting between Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi, the spokesman said both leaders reiterated their commitments for improving bilateral relations.

He said they also expressed the mutual desire for taking pragmatic and practical steps to improve ties.

Pakistan has repeatedly said the dialogue process between the two countries should be uninterrupted and result-oriented, he added.

He hoped the meeting would help push the dialogue process forward.