Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas. — File Photo by Reuters

RAWALPINDI: Fatigued by a series of diplomatic crises over the past year, the United States and Pakistan are redefining their troubled ties, stepping back from the assumption that common goals can trump mutual suspicion.

For Pakistan that means less cooperation with Washington and willingness, and in some cases eagerness, to swear off some of the American aid that often made Pakistan feel too dependent, and too pushed-around.

Both US and Pakistani officials said the November killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in a Nato air strike and Washington`s refusal to outright apologise for the deaths has been a game changer in a relationship characterised by mistrust and mutual acrimony.

A senior Obama administration official conceded that the deaths made every aspect of US cooperation with Pakistan more difficult, and that the distance Pakistan imposed might continue indefinitely.

The official, like most others interviewed for this story, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of ongoing discussions.

Pakistan has already stopped billing the United States for its anti-terror war expenses under the Coalition Support Fund, set up by Washington after the 9/11 attacks to reimburse its many allies for their military expenses fighting terrorists worldwide.

“From here on we want a very formal, business-like relationship. The lines will be drawn. There will be no more of the free run of the past, no more interpretation of rules. We want it very formal with agreed-upon limits,” military spokesman Maj-Gen Athar Abbas told AP.

Pakistan will further reduce the number of US military people in the country, limit military exchanges with the United States and rekindle its relationship with neighbours, such as China, which has been a more reliable ally, according to Islamabad.

Pakistan retaliated for the air strike deaths by shutting down Nato`s supply routes to Afghanistan and kicking the US out of an air base it used to facilitate drone attacks in Pakistan`s tribal belt. Both US and Pakistani officials expect more fallout, most likely in the form of additional tolls or taxes on Nato supplies into Afghanistan through Pakistan. There could also be charges for use of Pakistani airspace, said some officials in Pakistan.

Pakistan also asked the US not to send any high-level visitors to Pakistan for some time, the US official said.

US officials said they would like to mend fences quickly, but the senior administration official and others said they assume there would be less contact, fewer high-profile joint projects and fewer American government employees living and working in Pakistan.

With more than 3,000 Pakistani soldiers killed and thousands more injured in border fights with militants as part of the anti-terror war, Gen Abbas said the Pakistan military had grown weary of Washington`s repeated calls for Pakistan to do more.—AP