The son of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari insisted it wasn’t too late for the U.S. to apologize for the death of two dozen Pakistan troops in a bungled NATO raid.
“I think an immediate apology was the humane, appropriate thing to do… It’s never too late for an apology,” Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said during appearance on Andrea Mitchell Reports.
He made similar remarks speaking at an event in New York earlier this week.
After the raid last November, Pakistan closed the NATO supply routes to Afghanistan through its country. The United States continues to negotiate on its reopening, but Pakistan has insisted on an apology, which President Obama has not offered, as well as new fees for crossing the border.
“We don’t measure our soldiers’ blood in aid,” he added when pressed by Mitchell on whether or not the new fees were appropriate.
American drone strikes in Pakistan have also elevated tensions between the two countries. Zardari, chair of the Pakistan People’s Party, also defended Pakistan’s imprisonment of the doctor who helped U.S. intelligence track Osama bin Laden to Pakistan, as well as the country’s investigation into who might have helped him hide there for so long. “Anyone collaborating with foreign intelligence, even of a friendly country, anywhere in the world, that’s a crime,” he said. “We have independent judiciary…I have full faith they’ll come to the truth of the matter and we’ll find the people responsible if in fact they’re in Pakistan.” Zardari dismissed the possibility that members of the Pakistani government or military could have aided bin Laden. “The United States found a treasure-trove of evidence in the compound, none of which point to any link between Osama bin Laden, the Pakistani government, the Pakistani army or intelligence agencies,” he said.
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