ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s military has been handed a rare opportunity to press its strategic ambitions in neighboring Afghanistan after a cross-border NATO attack that killed 24 of its soldiers over the weekend.

Fury over the incident at home, where anti-American sentiment runs high, makes it likely that both the army chief, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, and the civilian government will play hardball with their ostensible ally, the United States.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ruled out “business as usual” with the United States on Monday after a NATO attack killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, and the army threatened to curtail cooperation with Washington on Afghanistan drastically.

Saturday’s incident on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan has complicated U.S. attempts to ease a crisis in relations with Islamabad and stabilize the region before foreign combat troops leave Afghanistan.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ruled out “business as usual” with the United States on Monday after a NATO attack killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, and the army threatened to curtail cooperation with Washington on Afghanistan drastically.

Saturday’s incident on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan has complicated U.S. attempts to ease a crisis in relations with Islamabad and stabilise the region before foreign combat troops leave Afghanistan.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s military has been handed a rare opportunity to press its strategic ambitions in neighboring Afghanistan after a cross-border NATO attack that killed 24 of its soldiers over the weekend.

Fury over the incident at home, where anti-American sentiment runs high, makes it likely that both the army chief, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, and the civilian government will play hardball with their ostensible ally, the United States.