Pakistan Demands End to Drone Attacks and an Apology from US - East Idaho News
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Pakistan Demands End to Drone Attacks and an Apology from US

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Thinkstock W 052711 USPakistanJPG?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1332320385880Photos [dot] com/George Doyle/Thinkstock(ISLAMABAD) — The Pakistani parliament made two major demands of the U.S. on Tuesday that the Obama administration will likely ignore.

First, lawmakers want an end to unmanned drone attacks in their country that the CIA and Pentagon have undertaken to kill high profile members of the Taliban and al Qaeda hiding out in the northwestern region of Pakistan.

Parliament also called on the White House to issue an unconditional apology for the NATO attack that killed 24 soldiers last November.  This incident has further strained relations between Washington and Islamabad.

At the State Department, spokeswoman Victoria Nuland seemed to gloss over these latest developments with the Pakistani parliament, instead saying, “We have always considered that our relationship should be grounded on the basis of mutual respect and common interest.”

President Obama has already expressed his condolences about the deaths of Pakistani soldiers but stopped short of a formal apology.  A Pentagon report of the incident found over-reaction from both sides when a joint U.S. and Afghan patrol came under fire by Pakistani troops.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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