Pakistan drone attacks to continue

Updated: 04:24, Friday June 8, 2012

Just two days after a drone strike killed al-Qaeda's second-in-command, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has made it clear such attacks will continue as long as the US needs to defend itself against terrorists who threaten America.
Speaking in India - on Pakistan's doorstep - Panetta unapologetically dismissed suggestions that the strikes could violate Pakistan's sovereignty.
'This is about our sovereignty as well,' he said when answering questions from the audience after a speech at an Indian think tank on Wednesday.
And he was blunt about the difficulties in the US relationship with Pakistan, as insurgents continue to find safe haven there, despite repeated protests from American leaders.
'It's a complicated relationship, often times frustrating, often times difficult,' Panetta said. 'They have provided some cooperation. There are other times when frankly that cooperation is not there. But the United States cannot just walk away from that relationship. We have to continue to do what we can to try to improve (the) areas where we can find some mutual cooperation.'
Panetta's message is likely to reverberate in Pakistan, particularly since it was delivered in India - Pakistan's long-standing archrival.
But he also publicly urged India to work toward a better relationship with Pakistan, its fellow nuclear-armed neighbour.
But Panetta's speech comes as US tensions with Pakistan continue to fray, strained by the persistent CIA drone attacks that target insurgents inside Pakistan as well as a deadlock in negotiation over US shipments of supplies across the Afghanistan border.
Adding to that potential discord, Panetta also urged Indian leaders in meetings to consider providing additional support to Afghanistan, including trade, reconstruction and assistance for the Afghan security forces.
Any increase in India's support for Afghanistan is likely to worry Pakistan, fuelling fears that Islamabad's influence on the Afghans' future could diminish.
Wrapping up a week of travel across Asia, Panetta said military cooperation with India is the linchpin to America's defence plan to focus more on the region. And he said that the two nations must move beyond individual arms sales and increase both the quality and quantity of their defence trade.