US halts talks with Pakistan

The United States has withdrawn negotiators from Pakistan after talks failed to produce an agreement on reopening NATO supply routes into Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Monday.

“The decision was reached to bring the team home for a short period of time,” Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters.

The team of negotiators had been in Pakistan for about six weeks, he said, as US officials had believed they were close to a deal with Islamabad to lift the blockade on NATO convoys, the Daily Time reports.

The US, however, would continue to maintain a “dialogue” with Pakistan and the departure of the expert negotiating team did not mean Washington had given up discussions with Islamabad, he said.