Pakistan air base

The decision to leave the base is an indication how the NATO attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on November 26 have driven the already strained US-Pakistani relationship to an all-time low.

The US ambassador to Pakistan said on Monday that Washington was complying with Islamabad's demand to vacate the Shamsi airbase in southwestern Baluchistan which has been used for the CIA's covert drone program. According to Ambassador Cameron Munter, the US is due to vacate the base by December 11.

Ambassador Munter said vacating the Shamsi airbase, however, would not significantly curtail US drone attacks in Pakistan, since the base was only used to service drones that had mechanical or weather difficulties.

Strained relations

The United States does not publicly acknowledge the CIA drone program in Pakistan, but privately, American officials say the strike have killed many Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. Recently Islamabad has come under criticism from the Washington, who would like to see the Pakistani government be more pro-active in combating the insurgency.

The recent deadly NATO attack, however, could undermine US attempts to get Pakistan to cooperate on winding down the war in neighboring Afghanistan.

After the airstrike, Pakistan immediately retaliated by blocking its Afghan border crossings to NATO supplies and giving the US 15 days to leave Shamsi. Islamabad is also boycotting an international conference in Bonn, Germany, aimed at fleshing out the details for a NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan.

No going back to 'business as usual'

President Barack Obama expressed his condolences on Sunday, calling the incident "regrettable" and emphasized that the airstrikes had not been a "deliberate attack."

Yet Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Rezza Gilani has said a simple apology would not do. "It will not be business as usual. We have to have something bigger, so as to satisfy my nation and the entire country," Gilani said.

Obama and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in a telephone conversation have nonetheless reaffirmed their commitment to their bilateral relationship, "which is critical to the security of both nations," according to a White House statement.

Author: Gregg Benzow (AFP, AP)

Editor: Sarah Berning