Hope to get back on track with new Pak PM: US

Pleased with the settling of the leadership issue in Pakistan, the Obama administration on Friday said it is looking forward to work with the new prime minister hoping this would provide them with an opportunity to get the relationship back on track.

"We are pleased that leadership issue has been settled. We obviously look forward to working with the new prime minister," State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, told reporters during an off camera news conference in Washington.

"We hope that this would open space to continue to roll out our sleeves and get back on track with all of the things that we want to do with Pakistan," Nuland said responding to questions on the election of Raja Pervez Ashraf as the new prime minister of Pakistan.

America's ties with the US nose-dived during the premiership of Yousuf Raza Gilani, with a series of incidents including the covert raid that killed Osama bin Laden and a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Responding to a question on an American commander's statement that the Haqqani network was behind the latest terrorist attack in Kabul that killed a large number of people, the spokesperson said that the US has been pushing Pakistan to 'squeeze' this terrorist outfit.

The United States, she noted, has been making the point with Pakistan for long time that it needs to take action against the terrorist network. Nuland applauded the professionalism of the Afghan National Security Forces in successfully ending the attack and freeing the hostages.

The Afghan forces accomplished this without any help from the US forces, she pointed out.