'Appropriate' U.S. apology for NATO strikes must to reset broken ties: Sherry Rehman

Washington -  Pakistan's Ambassador to America, Sherry Rehman, has sought for greater appreciation of the Pakistani perspective on the fight against terror, and emphasised  the importance of an "appropriate" American apology over the Salala incident to move forward the relationship.

"These (ground lines of communication) were closed following the Salala incident and remain closed pending a U.S. apology. The debate on the matter has been wrongly cast as a price  haggle or price gouging in the U.S. media. This is not the case," The Dawn quoted Rehman, as saying.

"An appropriate apology for the Salala incident of November 26, 2011 in which twenty four Pakistani soldiers were killed in a US air attack is also needed," she said.

"We want our American friends to respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity. This means no drone attacks and no incursions into Pakistani territory," she added.

Rehman said the two countries are in a "critical phase" of negotiating new terms of engagement and narrowing down their differences.

She said a better understanding of the Pakistani point of view in the U.S. about Pakistan's contributions and sacrifices in fighting extremism would help the cause of the relationship.

"We have helped to arrest or neutralise nearly 250 Al-Qaeda members, provided the U.S. free use of our highways to transport supplies to Afghanistan. We have lost more than 37,000  Pakistanis to terrorism. Over five thousand security and law enforcement personnel have laid down their lives fighting terrorism," she said.