US to restore military aid to Pakistan?

The US is mulling to restore the suspended $800 million in military aid and equipment to Islamabad, Pakistan's spy chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha was quoted today as saying.

The US is mulling to restore the suspended $800 million in military aid and equipment to Islamabad, Pakistan's spy chief was quoted on Sunday as saying.

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Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, who heads the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), said this had been indicated by senior US officials, the Urdu daily Jang reported.

He also quoted American officials as promising that Washington would now on respect Pakistan's sovereignty.

Briefing army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on his one-day visit to the US, Pasha said his talks would remove mistrust between the two countries.

Pasha met CIA's acting chief Michael Morell as well as leading Congressmen and officials in Washington.

It was his first trip to the US after Amercian commandos stealthily flew into the Pakistani city of Abbottabad May 2 and gunned down the elusive Osama bin Laden.

Relations between the two countries deteriorated after the killing.

The US announced last week it was stopping the $800 mn aid - over a a third of the more than $2 billion American security aid to Pakistan - to the Pakistani military following the expulsion of more than 100 US Special Forces trainers by Islamabad.

According to the Jang, Gen Kayani expressed satisfaction over the result of Pasha’s visit.

He reiterated that Pakistan would continue its relations with the US on basis of equality, keeping in view the country’s national security and sovereignty.