US-Pak partnership record is ‘a mixed one’: Robert Gates

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has conceded that the US relationship with Pakistan was not what the Americans wished it were. 

"I would say this administration has made a significant effort to try and change the nature of our relationship with Pakistan, in terms of a more enduring partnership," The Dawn quoted Gates, as saying.

"And I would say that, obviously, the record is a mixed one. And we both have concerns, but there's also no doubt in my mind that we have to continue to make our best efforts to manage this relationship going forward," he added.

Gates further disagreed with suggestions that Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden's presence in Pakistan's Abbottabad city had proved that the US assistance to Pakistan had been a waste.

"I do not think that the money that we have spent in Pakistan has been a waste. The reality is that Pakistan now has 140,000 troops on the border. Their actions in Swat and in South Waziristan have been helpful to us," Gates said.

The Defence Secretary also insisted that Pakistan was very important, "not just because of Afghanistan, but because of its nuclear weapons, and because of the importance of stability in the subcontinent. So, we need to keep working at this". ANI