House panel gives nod to new policy towards US

Islamabad: Pakistan's parliamentary committee on national security has finalised its proposals on reshaping relations with the United States, a process set in motion after the Nato air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.

The chairman of the committee, Senator Raza Rabbani of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, has said the panel would meet on Tuesday to fine-tune the recommendations before presenting the draft to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

The government will present the committee's proposals for approval before a joint session of the National Assembly and the Senate, likely to be convened by the middle of January.

Gilani said this month that a decision on the issue of reopening of the Nato supply routes to Afghanistan through Pakistan would be taken in the light of the parliamentary committee's proposals. Islamabad had shut the routes within hours after the November 26 air attack, which drove US-Pakistani relations further into a tailspin.