A major American newspaper on Thursday urged the Obama administration to apologize to Pakistan for its airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at Salala, saying the refusal to do so, even the U.S. is wrong, makes the country look “stubborn”.

“An apology is long overdue,” The Boston Globe said in a forthright editorial.

“The refusal to apologize has led many in Pakistan to conclude that the killings were deliberate,” it said. “To express its outrage, Pakistan has shut down NATO convoys that deliver essential supplies to US troops in Afghanistan, giving up much-needed income.

The closure has taken a financial toll on the United States as well, since it forces the US military to take a far more expensive route. Last week, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta gave the first public estimate of the closure’s cost: $100 million a month.” (APP)