If there's one thing the average American and Pakistani can agree on, it's that they don't like each other's countries very much. According to a Pew Global Attitudes survey, only 11% of Pakistanis hold a favorable view of the United States. But they still need each other.

But there is more to the story than the simple lack of violence. Earlier this month, a call for a public strike by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the hard-line patriarchal separatist leader at the forefront of last year's anti-India protests, evoked a feeble response in Kashmir.

No amount of economic aid by the Obama administration has been able to ease Pakistani concerns over US counterterrorist policies and Washington’s ties with India, with opinion polls showing that Pakistanis now overwhelmingly view China more favorably than the United States.

Moments after he said that his country had instructed Pakistan to target terror havens, US ambassador Timothy Roemer was given basic lessons in the American sport of ultimate (earlier known as Frisbee) by slum children on his visit to Gandhi Ashram on Tuesday.

In keeping with the resolve to further cultural exchanges between Pakistan and Brazil, the Embassy of Brazil has invited five prominent members of the cultural and artistic scene of Pakistan to visit Brazil in May.

While international attention is captivated by the high profile victory in Abbottabad, such a focus threatens to divert our focus from the underlying factors that have pushed Pakistan to the front lines of the "war on terrorism".

Since Osama bin Laden’s killing, US lawmakers have been engaged in a feisty debate over whether to cut aid to Pakistan. They ask why American taxpayers should give over $3bn annually to a country that would harbour the world’s most-wanted terrorist.