Pakistan and the US are negotiating a fresh arrangement for allowing American military trainers back into the country, a development that may break a months-old deadlock in the relationship between the two ostensible allies. The new agreement, if finalised, will allow a smaller number of American military trainers in Pakistan compared to their pre-May 2 strength.
While neither side has revealed publicly how many US troops were in Pakistan, some reports have suggested that the number was around 200. Pakistan kicked out 90% of the US military personnel stationed in the country as a reaction to the May 2 Abbottabad raid by US forces. The decision, along with the fact that Osama bin Laden was found living in Pakistan, has caused a further strain in the ties between the key allies in the war on terror. In a tit for tat move, the US withheld $800mn assistance in military, much of which, it said was meant to fund the presence of the US trainers in Pakistan.
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