Washington : The United States moved to ease tensions with Islamabad on Friday, telling Pakistan it would not send ground troops to attack militant positions in North Waziristan Pakistan.
The demonstrations broke out in several Pakistani cities just a day after political leaders joined in rejecting U.S. accusations that Islamabad was supporting militants.
Charges by Admiral Mike Mullen, President Barack Obama's top military adviser, that Pakistan's spy agency had supported this month's attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul triggered a diplomatic fusillade over the past week.
Mullen, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, softened his rhetoric Friday, telling a ceremony marking the end of his tenure that the U.S. relationship with Pakistan was "vexing and yet vital."
Mullen further said that, "I continue to believe there is no solution in the region without Pakistan, and no stable future in the region without a partnership," and he called himself Pakistan's best friend in the U.S. military.
Obama said the U.S. would continue to push Pakistan to do more to curb militants based in its border regions while maintaining intelligence cooperation with Islamabad.
