The United States has been pushing Pakistan to re-open supply routes to NATO forces in Afghanistan in difficult talks that show no signs of a breakthrough any time soon. Pakistan closed the routes, which are seen as vital to the planned withdrawal of most foreign troops from Afghanistan before the end of 2014, in protest against last November's killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in a NATO air attack along the Afghan border. US senators warn Pakistan on aid over bin Laden 
 
 WASHINGTON — Key US senators Wednesday demanded that Pakistan pardon a surgeon handed 33 years in prison for helping in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, warning that the decision could put US assistance at risk.
– The sun still is not shining on US-Pakistan relations. A US drone strike targeting suspected militants in northwest Pakistan killed 10 today, a move that will likely further inflame tensions between the two countries, reports Reuters. Pakistan has demanded an end to the strikes, which it considers a violation of its sovereignty—and it's still waiting for an apology for November's deadly strike. Adding to the most recent drama: Sens. John McCain and Carl Levin. McCain and Levin yesterday called the 33-year sentence handed to the doctor who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden "shocking and outrageous." They threatened to end US financial assistance to Pakistan—which had totaled $18 billion since the war in Afghanistan began—if Shakil Afridi is not pardoned and freed "immediately," reports the AFP. "Dr. Afridi's continuing imprisonment and treatment as a criminal will only do further harm to US-Pakistani relations, including diminishing Congress' willingness to provide financial assistance to Pakistan," they wrote in a joint statement.