KABUL - The partnership approach between Washington and Islamabad would be hard to revive in the wake of recent attacks on American interests, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen said on Wednesday.
The US would remain firm in its approach toward Pakistan and the war on terrorism, warned Mullen, who accused the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of providing logistic support to the Haqqani network — blamed for recent attacks in Kabul.

Given the current situation, it would take time to restore US-Pakistan relations and trust, the top military official said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

The Americans were going to take a tougher line in asking Pakistan to control rebel groups, added the admiral, who told Congress last week that the ISI was collaborating with the Haqqanis. "I am losing people, and I am just not going to stand for that. I have been Pakistan's best friend.

What does it say when I am at that point? What does it say about where we are?" asked the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His approach did not produce the outcome he desired, Mullen admitted.

About a flurry of visits to Islamabad, he said: "Each time I go I learn more. But one of the things I learn is I have a lot more to learn." "That certainly includes India. With coalition forces drawing down, Afghanistan will need extensive private investment and economic linkages with its neighbors," he said.

"As Secretary Clinton emphatically noted in Chennai with regard to our long-term commitment to Afghanistan's stability, we will be there," he said, insisting that success in Afghanistan depends on ensuring that others are there, too.