Washington: Pakistan has refused to take part in a US military probe of air strikes near the Afghan border that left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead, the Pentagon said Friday.
Pakistan was invited to cooperate in the probe into Saturday’s incident, which has enraged Islamabad and plunged US-Pakistani relations into crisis, but officials have declined to do so.
“They have elected to date not to participate, but we would welcome their participation,” said Pentagon press secretary George Little.
US officials expected a refusal given the fury in Pakistan following the incident, which led Islamabad to block Nato supply convoys on its border and boycott an international conference on Afghanistan in Bonn set for Monday.
The United States has voiced regret over the strikes but has stopped short of issuing an apology while the American military conducts the investigation.
