Washington, May 26(ANI): The United States is reducing its military presence in Pakistan after Islamabad made a formal request in this regard, the Pentagon has said.
"We were recently within (the) past two weeks notified in writing that the government of Pakistan wished for the U.S. to reduce its footprint in Pakistan. Accordingly, we have begun those reductions," the CNN quoted Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan, as saying.
Over 200 members of the US military were in the country to train Pakistanis and aid them in using equipment.
The announcement comes during a week in which Washington has sought to put relations with Islamabad back on track after its stealth May 1 raid in which US Navy SEALs flew into Abbottabad and killed Osama bin Laden, the channel said.
Pakistani government officials have condemned the raid as a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, and said that they did not know the al Qaeda leader had been living there.
But CIA Director Leon Panetta-nominated by Obama to succeed Robert Gates as Defense Secretary-told House members during a closed-door briefing early this month that Pakistan was "either involved or incompetent," according to two sources in attendance.
On Tuesday, former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf joined in condemning the US action. "No country has a right to intrude into any other country," he told the channel. "Actually, technically, if you see it legally, it's an act of war."
At the same time, Washington has demanded specific actions from the Pakistani government to demonstrate its commitment to rooting out terrorists in the country.
Last week, Marc Grossman, the State Department's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, travelled to Islamabad, where he delivered a set of demands, saying the United States is looking for actions, not words from Pakistan.
During meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari, Army Chief General Pervaiz Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, Grossman said that the United States is looking for more cooperation from Pakistan in fighting extremism. (ANI)
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