US, Pakistan hold talks amid tensions

Senior US commanders have held talks with Pakistan's army chief in the garrison town of Rawalpindi amid growing tensions between the two allies in the so-called war on terror, Press TV reports. A delegation led by US and NATO commander in Afghanistan General John Allen met with the Pakistani Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani on Saturday, a statement issued by the Pakistani army said. The meeting between the key military officials focused on “operations in Afghanistan-Pakistan border areas and coordination mechanism to avoid untoward incidents,” the statement added. The visit by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) delegation was in connection to the Tripartite Commission meeting, a trilateral meeting between the military officials of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the ISAF. Formal tripartite commission is expected to meet when Afghan army chief General Sher Muhammad Karimi will arrive in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Sunday. The meeting followed several inconclusive meetings with senior US officials aimed at ending diplomatic deadlock between Islamabad and Washington. The two tough allies did not manage to patch up damaged relations after Washington refused to apologize for killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in an airstrike on two military posts on the border last November. The killing of Pakistani soldiers provoked retaliation by Pakistani government, prompting Islamabad to block the NATO supply route to Afghanistan. The relations between Islamabad and Washington was previously strained over US assassination drone strikes on civilians under the excuse of targeting militants as well as alleged killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden near Islamabad in May 2011.