ISLAMABAD, Aug 3: Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen skipped Pakistan during his possibly last visit to the region before retiring, signalling the continuing stalemate in military relations between the two countries because of differences over counter-terrorism strategies.

The admiral visited Afghanistan last weekend and afterwards went to Iraq without a stopover in Pakistan, which would have been normally part of his trip to the region.

“We were just informed that he wouldn’t visit Pakistan. We are not aware of any reasons,” a US military official said.

Admiral Mullen, whose tenure as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ends next month, acknowledged before embarking on the visit to Afghanistan that the military relationship, which once formed foundation of bilateral ties, was passing through a difficult phase.

However, the admiral did speak to Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani before leaving for Afghanistan. It is understood that he may have explained to him the reasons for omitting Pakistan from his itinerary.

The apparent snub by Admiral Mullen, who was once criticised for being too soft on Pakistan military, was the latest expression of US military establishment’s concerns about the contentious issues that have soured the relationship.

Earlier in July the US suspended $800 million in military aid to Pakistan, which constitutes one third of the total security assistance coming from Washington.

Pakistani military officials read Adm. Mullen’s not visiting Pakistan as an expression of displeasure over their refusal to review the decision of sending back American military trainers after the May 2 US raid in Abbottabad.

But, the chairman himself during media interviews indicated that he differed with Pakistani commanders over the timeframe for certain military operations.

For quite some time the US has been pressuring Pakistan to launch a full-scale offensive against the North Waziristan-based Haqqani network.

He had said that his main worry as he left the office was continued presence of safe havens in areas along the border from where Al Qaeda affiliates were planning to launch attacks beyond the region.

Though the continuing impasse in military relations bodes ill for normalisation of ties, military officers say they are encouraged by US envoy Marc Grossman’s statement that Washington will take Pakistan along in its reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan.

After his meeting with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday, Mr Grossman was quoted in a statement issued by the PM’s office as having said the US did not contemplate any reconciliation process in Afghanistan without Pakistan.

The prime minister said it was extremely important for Pakistan to have a sovereign, stable and prosperous Afghanistan as it was in the best interest of the country and the region.

Mr Gilani said he was pleased that his idea of three Ds (Dialogue, Development and Deterrence) was being considered by the international community as a way forward to achieve security and stability through economic development.

Responding to the apprehensions expressed by Mr Gilani that Pakistan might again suffer the negative fallout of the Afghan crisis, Ambassador Grossman assured the prime minister that the US would not commit the same mistake of abandoning Pakistan.