'Redefined Pak-US ties to be very formal, business like with no more free run of past'

Islamabad, Jan 3(ANI): Pakistan and the United States are considering lowering their expectations of working together and remain in limited contact, which can be described as the biggest change in the decade-old ties since the 9/11 terror attacks.

"From here on in we want a very formal, business- like relationship. The lines will be drawn. There will be no more of the free run of the past, no more interpretation of rules. We want it very formal with agreed upon limits," Pakistan's military spokesman General Athar Abbas said.

For Pakistan, the redefined relationship with the US implies lesser cooperation, limiting military exchanges and strengthening ties with the neighbouring countries like China.

For the United States, the redefined relationship means reducing military and economic program designed for targeting militants in Pakistan, The Washington Post reports.

The US' decision to curtail financial assistance to Pakistan, however, could lead to lesser co-operation from Pakistan in ending the Afghan War.

The move follows a series of diplomatic crises over the past year, including the US NavySeals raid in Abbottabad that killed former Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, and the more recent NATO airstrike into the Pakistani border that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Both U.S. and Pakistani officials said Washington's refusal to apologize for the deadly November 26 raid into the Pakistan border had been a turning point in their ties, which are already marred by trust deficit, the paper reported.

The US dubbed the November 26 raid as a tragedy caused by mistakes of both sides, but said that Pakistan fired first, a claim which the latter denies.

Pakistan also sealed the NATO supply route and boycotted peace talks with the Taliban in Bonn as a reaction to the deadly raid, which further hardened the attitude of the US Congress.

A senior Obama administration official admitted that the November 26 incident and Pakistan's response to it would make its future cooperation with the US more difficult. (ANI)