The US has been pleased at the opening of the Pakistani ground lines of communication for transporting Nato supplies into Afghanistan, said the US State Department. -AP File Photo

WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday said it looks forward to intensive engagement with Pakistan on wide-ranging issues of mutual interest as Washington wants the bilateral relationship back on track.

“I don't have a specific update. But, obviously, we want to get our relationship back on track. We look to the future of our relationship with Pakistan. So we look forward to more intensively engaging with them on a whole range of issues,” a State Department spokesman said, when asked about the revival of strategic dialogue between the two countries.

Spokesman Patrick Ventrell did not list the issues of interest to both nations but referred to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's meeting in a trilateral group with Pakistani and Afghan foreign ministers in Tokyo this month as an example of cooperation.

“We continue our intensive engagement with the Pakistanis, going forward,” Ventrell said.

The US, he said, has been pleased at the opening of the Pakistani ground lines of communication for transporting Nato supplies into Afghanistan.

American officials, he said, are working with their Pakistani counterparts to clear the backlog of containers, as a result of the closure of the key Pakistani routes about seven months ago.

“We are talking about a lot of backlog, a number of containers, very significant amount of material. So, it's going to take some time to find an efficient way to get them all through,” he explained when asked about technical details being worked out on the passage of Nato supplies.

Opinion

Editorial

Plugging the gap
06 May, 2024

Plugging the gap

IN Pakistan, bias begins at birth for the girl child as discriminatory norms, orthodox attitudes and poverty impede...
Terrains of dread
Updated 06 May, 2024

Terrains of dread

Restored faith in the police is unachievable without political commitment and interprovincial support.
Appointment rules
Updated 06 May, 2024

Appointment rules

If the judiciary had the power to self-regulate, it ought to have exercised it instead of involving the legislature.
Hasty transition
Updated 05 May, 2024

Hasty transition

Ostensibly, the aim is to exert greater control over social media and to gain more power to crack down on activists, dissidents and journalists.
One small step…
05 May, 2024

One small step…

THERE is some good news for the nation from the heavens above. On Friday, Pakistan managed to dispatch a lunar...
Not out of the woods
05 May, 2024

Not out of the woods

PAKISTAN’S economic vitals might be showing some signs of improvement, but the country is not yet out of danger....