In an interview, Grossman said the US “respected and recognised the sacrifice Pakistan had made in the war against terrorism”, but he remained non-committal on the question of drone strikes, wishing not to comment on demands by Pakistan that they should end.
Elaborating on the agreement brokered by Senator John Kerry earlier this week for joint action and intelligence sharing, Grossman insisted “joint meant joint” with neither country in the driving seat. Grossman said a step-by-step approach would be taken here as well “to see what we can do together. We need to work together and identify the threat jointly.”
Grossman said there was convergence between the US and Pakistan on many issues including the Haqqani network, which has been a major irritant between the two countries, adding Pakistan and the US “see more clearly now than they did a week ago.”