Obama wants US, Pak to work together

Obama was meeting Pakistan`s new Ambassador to the US, Sherry Rehman, at her credential ceremony at his Oval Office in White House last afternoon.

The US relations with Pakistan is under a strain after a deadly NATO strike last November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on the Pak-Afghan border.

"The President welcomed Ambassador Rehman to Washington and expressed his desire that our two governments continue to work closely together towards our shared objectives of defeating al-Qaeda, combating violent extremism, and supporting a stable and peaceful Pakistan, Afghanistan and wider region," Caitlin Hayden, Deputy spokesperson, National Security Council, said.

Normally the White House does not provide readouts to credentials ceremony of Ambassadors. The statement from the National Security Council was issued at the request of a number of reporters.

Politician-turned-diplomat Rehman was accompanied by his husband Nadeem Hussain, a banker, and her daughter during the credentialing ceremony held at the White House Wednesday afternoon.

Rehman, replaces, Husain Haqqani, who resigned after his name appeared in the memo gate scandal that has rocked Pakistan`s domestic political set up.

Following the November 26 attack, Pakistan blocked NATO supply routes from its soil, asked US to vacate Shamshi air base and said it will review its rules of engagement with the Washington.