Pakistan military denies return of US trainers

Islamabad, May 31: The Pakistani military on Thursday denied claims by US officials that a group of American trainers had returned to the country months after their departure following a deadly

air strike that had killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. "The news of returning of US trainers to

is not correct," said a brief statement issued by the Pakistani military.

An unnamed US official had been quoted by the media as saying that nearly 10 military trainers were back in Pakistan as a sign of a 'thaw in the bilateral relationship'. The official said US special forces soldiers have been sent to a training site near Peshawar, where they will instruct trainers from Pakistan's Frontier Corps in counter-insurgency warfare. Pakistan had sought the withdrawal of US trainers after the NATO air strike hit two of its border posts in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan last November. In an angry reaction to the death of the soldiers, Islamabad closed supply routes for NATO troops in Afghanistan. Islamabad also forced US personnel to vacate a strategically important airbase in southwestern Balochistan that was considered a hub for CIA-operated drones.

Pakistan and the US have so far failed to agree on new terms for reopening the NATO supply lines. Islamabad is reportedly demanding 5,000 dollars for every NATO container and tanker as transit fees, a demand that has been rejected by US officials. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said on Sunday that the United States would not be 'gouged' by Pakistan on the charges for NATO supplies. Some US lawmakers have described Pakistani demands as extortion, reflecting deep mistrust between the allies in the war on terror.

PTI