Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has disclosed that Pakistan is currently working to improve its relations with the United States of America, but noted that this issue may take some time. He said in remarks published in the local media today that relations between Pakistan and the United States have deteriorated over the issue of intelligence agent Raymond Davis, a U.S. citizen, who is responsible for killing three Pakistanis in Lahore, because of the operation carried out by U.S. special forces on a compound near the city of Abbottabad on May 2, without any notification to the Pakistani authorities. He pointed out that Washington and Islamabad are in talks at various levels to improve relations, noting that the restoration of confidence again may take some time. "However, the United States considers Pakistan an important country, but we desire these bilateral relations to be on the basis of respect and mutual trust," Gilani noted.
