Pakistan Army denies presence of US military trainers
May 31, 2012
Earlier, the United States had claimed that it has sent a handful of military trainers back into Pakistan in a sign the two nations may be able to achieve some low-level cooperation against militants despite a string of confrontations that have left Washington's relations with Islamabad in crisis.
Fewer than 10 US special operations soldiers have been sent to a training site near the border city of Peshawar, where they will instruct trainers from Pakistan's Frontier Corps in counter-insurgency warfare, a US official said.
The number of American military instructors in Pakistan dropped to zero after US aircraft killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in late November.
"I wouldn't call this a watershed moment (but) it's not insignificant that this is happening," the US official said on condition of anonymity.
"At a strategic level, the relationship is still at a very rough place," the official said.
"There's a lot more we want to do to improve it, but (the trainers' return) is an important sign that at least in some areas we're getting a healthy sense of normalcy."
