US reduces nos of military personnel in Pakistan

Islamabad, Jun 11: The US has reduced the number of its military personnel in Pakistan following a request from Islamabad, reflecting the continuing tensions between the two countries in the wake of the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

"We recently received a written request from the government of Pakistan to reduce the number of US military personnel here, and we have nearly completed that reduction," said Vice Admiral Michael LeFever, chief of the Office of the Defence Representative Pakistan.

"We've been honoured to partner with the Pakistan military and we believe our service members here provide excellent support to Pakistan''s military in the fight against violent extremists," LeFever said in a statement issued by the US Embassy.

The statement did not give the actual of US military personnel who had been pulled out of Pakistan.

Recent reports have said that they included American trainers who had been working with Pakistani paramilitary organisations like the Frontier Corps.

The US Embassy statement said American US military personnel in Pakistan include trainers who work with Pakistani security forces.

"The total number of US military forces in Pakistan is determined at the request of and in conjunction with the government and military of Pakistan," it said.

PTI