Tension between Pak and US after alleged killing of Taliban chief

Washington: After the “highly successful” US visit of Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif nearly a fortnight ago, there is “tension” in the relationship between the two countries over the alleged killing of Taliban chief, Hakimullah Mehsud, in a drone attack last week. “We continue to have tensions in our relationship, and we work through them because we have so many important shared bilateral interests, and those are economic and security related,” the White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney said yesterday. [caption id=“attachment_1210645” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Hakimullah Mehsud. AFP image[/caption] “It is in both nations’ interests, we believe, to strengthen the relationship between our two countries, which is what we’re trying to do,” Carney said responding to questions on the death of Mehsud. The United States continues to neither confirm nor deny the death of Tehrik-e Taliban (TTP) leader Mehsud. The US had declared a reward of USD 5 million on him and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) considered him as one of the world’s most wanted terrorists. “I’m not going to confirm those reports one way or the other about Hakimullah Mehsud,” State Department Deputy-Spokesperson, Marie Harf, told reporters. Carney too refused to confirm the news report. “I think, I can be clear that Hakimullah Mehsud was considered the commander of the TTP – that’s the Pakistan Taliban – the group that claimed responsibility for the failed bombing in Times Square in New York City in May of 2010,” Carney said. Hakimullah and other TTP leaders had publicly vowed tocontinue targeting the United States and Americans, he said. He was also wanted in the murder of seven Americans and injuring six others on December 30, 2009, at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost Province of Afghanistan. PTI