U.S. reassures Pakistan amid anti-American protests

[The Northerner]

(Reuters) - The United States moved to ease tensions with Islamabad on Friday, telling Pakistan it would not send ground troops to attack militant positions in North Waziristan even as anti-American protests flared around the country.

The demonstrations by religious parties broke out in several Pakistani cities just a day after political leaders joined in rejecting U.S. accusations that Islamabad was supporting militants.

A senior U.S. official told Reuters on Friday that "there will be no boots on the ground" in Pakistan, a message he said "has been communicated to them (the Pakistanis)."

Charges by Admiral Mike Mullen, President Barack Obama's top military adviser, that Pakistan's spy agency had supported this month's attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul triggered a diplomatic fusillade over the past week.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/30/us-pakistan-usa-idUSTRE78T57X20110930