THE LASTEST FRIENDLY FIRE INCIDENT IN PAKISTAN has plunged the already strained relationship between the United States and Pakistan to a new low.

The feud between the United States and Pakistan over the US-led NATO cross-border air strikes that killed at least 24 Pakistani troops on Sunday, should prompt Washington to reflect upon its relationship with Islamabad and its anti-terror strategy in South Asia.

While the US has offered its condolences to Pakistan and the families of those killed, this has not been enough to quell Islamabad's fury.

In retaliation, the South Asian country has shut off NATO supply routes to Afghanistan and ordered the US to vacate one of the air bases that is used by US intelligence forces to launch drone attacks against militants in Pakistan.

Given that the deaths were at the hands of an ally, Pakistan's anger is justified and the US owes Pakistan a thorough investigation and genuine explanation. It also needs to ensure that such a tragedy will not happen again.

It is also necessary for the US to rethink its anti-terror strategy in the region. True, the US needs to hunt down as many extremists in the region as possible before it winds down its operations in Afghanistan. But it should keep its military operations within international norms.

If Washington still sees strategic importance in its relations with Islamabad and wants its cooperation in Afghanistan, it should make greater efforts to prevent bilateral ties deteriorating further.

Rifts in their relationship began to emerge after the US killing of Osama bin Laden in May and many in Pakistan now regard US drone attacks in the region as a violation of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Such anti-US sentiments alone could chill their cooperation and create an unfavorable environment for the US-led forces' mission in Afghanistan.

Washington needs to understand its ties with Pakistan should be based on mutual trust and respect. Its billions of dollars of financial support to Pakistan does not give it the right to breach the latter's sovereignty and territorial integrity at will.

However, some voices heard in the US after the incident indicate there is no guarantee that Washington is willing to do more to mend its fences with Islamabad.

If such a perspective becomes the mainstream in US policy towards Pakistan, both its cooperation with Pakistan and its own interests in the region will suffer.

(China Daily 11/30/2011 page8)